Lady Sif and the Prophecy
by CoulsonRocks
Summary: Set after "Seeds," Coulson still struggles to find out why Fury resurrected him. Lady Sif visits to provide some answers, a prophecy, and a tough choice. Coulson's decision will affect the prophecy and S.H.I.E.L.D. Is he ready to understand what this all means and how his life, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the lives of his team will be changed? Philinda and Bahrain.
1. Chapter 1

NOTE: I'm actually weaving together AOS, the films, and the comics. The Asgardians really do have the abilities I describe in this story. I wish I owned the characters. Sadly, I don't.

* * *

"Do you see Phillip, son of Coul?" Sif asked Heimdall, as they looked over the edge of the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard.

"Yes, he is enduring much pain as they try to repair the damage."

She sighed and lowered her eyes for a moment. "Keep me informed of his recovery. His time grows near."

...-...

"Are you okay, Skye? It's your turn," said Simmons.

Skye realized she had been staring at the stairs leading to Coulson's office and turned back to the board to see what was played, never looking at the other woman. "Yeah, I'm okay." Technically she was, but there were several things bothering her.

Coulson had spent so much time alone since his capture, and when he did spend time with them, he talked and smiled little. In contrast, he used to spend time with the team in the evenings, talking; laughing; watching something on TV; or playing a game. She missed his presence, like now, as she sat playing UpWords with Ward and Fitz-Simmons. She saw Coulson as a father-type figure, a surrogate father she never knew, and she wanted to help him somehow.

"He just needs more time," she heard Ward say in a quiet voice, the modus operandi when they discussed Coulson since his rescue. Ward said the same thing the other day before they went to the Academy, but that was before she found out a few things that the others most likely didn't know.

Her heart wasn't really in this game right now, so she didn't search too hard for a way to use her letters. However, she did see a way to use her "U." She picked it up and put it on top of the "I." Fitz-Simmons were so much better at this game than she could ever hope to be, and she had yet to beat them.

"Eleven," said Fitz, who was recording the score.

Skye nearly spoke over him, not caring about the points. "Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. tell someone Coulson died when he didn't?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted the Avengers to believe it to motivate them to fight for a common cause."

"Yes, I understand that part, but why keep up the lie that he died?"

"It's S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol. The Avengers don't know that he isn't dead. S.H.I.E.L.D. is worried how the Avengers will take the news."

"But what about someone he was in love with?"

Ward motioned them to move into the kitchen area, which put a little distance between them and Coulson's office.

She followed and continued, "Why can't he let her know he is alive?"

"It's still S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol to keep up the façade," Simmons said, drawing Skye's attention.

"That's horrible and stupid," Skye proclaimed, looking at each of them. "So Coulson sacrificed himself and lost nearly everything of his former life? The people he knew who weren't S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Ward answered, "Technically, only Level 7s and up are supposed to know he's alive. Obviously, present company excepted."

She was beginning to understand the recordings, but that didn't mean she had to like this. "It's like he's being punished for being a hero." Looking around at the others, while they didn't say anything, she saw the sadness in their eyes.

"Was he married? Does he have children?" Simmons asked.

"No," Ward said. "But he was in love with a beautiful cellist in the Portland Symphony – second chair."

"Have you seen her?" Skye asked Ward.

"No, but he told me about her."

For whatever reason, Skye found that surprising. She wondered if she could just go ask Coulson, and he'd be as forthcoming with her. Doing this the easy way, she started to walk away.

"Are we done playing?" Fitz asked. "If we are, I won."

"Oh, Fitz..." Simmons began before Skye interrupted, not caring who won.

"I'm getting my computer. I'll be right back," Skye said with excitement.

"The cellist is obviously very good," Skye heard Simmons say.

"How do you know?" Ward asked.

"First chair is the best, most experienced cellist. Then, second chair is next."

Skye made some mental notes of this woman while she went to her cabin. When she came out, Ward and Fitz-Simmons were sitting back around the game. She joined them and booted up her laptop.

"Whose turn?" Ward said.

"Yours," Simmons replied.

Not paying attention to the game, Skye brought up a browser window and started searching to find Coulson's former girlfriend. She had her own mission now to find out about this woman. A few search refinements and she had information in two different browser windows. "Here. Her name is Ana Maximoff." Skye turned the laptop, so the others could see.

"Coulson can pick 'em," Ward said. Everyone agreed.

One window contained a newspaper article about the woman with a black and white photo, talking about her upcoming move from New York to Portland, which was dated February 13, 2012. Another window showed a color photo of the beautiful woman, who looked to be in her early thirties. Her long, wavy, dark hair was a striking contrast against the long, vibrant, scarlet dress.

Skye turned the laptop back to read the article. According to it, the woman was ten years older than she looked. "I'd like to contact this woman and get to know her."

"Leave this alone, Skye," Ward warned. "She can't know about Coulson."

"I would be the one talking to her, and I wouldn't mention anything about him."

"This just doesn't sound like a prudent plan," Fitz said and Simmons agreed. "I think you're asking for trouble. What would it accomplish anyway?"

"There may be some way to give each of them closure."

"Don't talk to her," Ward said with a stern look. "That's an order."

"All right." Skye shrugged and thought about alternative options. She had found that Po and Raina recorded their torture sessions with Coulson on the equipment he asked her to look at before handing it over to big S.H.I.E.L.D. What she didn't tell him was that she listened to what they had done to him. That he had no family, except for S.H.I.E.L.D., and the fact that he couldn't talk to the woman he loved really saddened her. She could relate in so many ways.

Then there was May. Skye was pretty sure that Coulson was in love with her. She covertly watched his behavior around May, especially after the way he became emotional when talking about how the older woman got the nickname "The Cavalry." However, Skye knew that Ward and May were having sex, and Coulson knew it too. Not much escaped the senior agent, as observant as he was. Among other things, she and Coulson had accidentally overheard a conversation between Ward and May shortly after they encountered that berserker staff. Skye saw Coulson lower sad eyes and move away, just one of several incidents substantiating her belief about Coulson's feelings.

Did May know Coulson was in love with her? It was a question Skye kept wondering. The older woman was a deep freeze. Why Ward was attracted to her was a mystery. Coulson's attraction to May, Skye could understand, as he knew the woman before the Bahrain incident when she had a warm personality.

Skye had to come up with a plan for the next part of her mission.


	2. Chapter 2

Coulson, for the nth time, read through his death and recovery report. May would have chastised him again if she knew. However, he had trouble wrapping his head around a lot of things in it. The ethical and moral ramifications of this astounded him. Dr. Franklin Hall's words echoed in his mind that S.H.I.E.L.D. was just as guilty as Ian Quinn in experimenting without thought of consequences.

Using Coulson's previous psych evaluations, doctors thought he would be a good candidate – he read it "guinea pig" – to resurrect because he had a 'high mental resilience, flexibility, and ability to adapt to and overcome problems as they occurred.' They severely underestimated how much pain the procedures would cause and his willingness to give up his life.

He thought back to the three-day debriefing by Director Fury and Commander Maria Hill after his rescue from Centipede. They sat in Fury's office at the conference table.

It was Coulson's turn to get some answers. "Sir, why is information being kept from me, like my death and recovery report? I have a right to know." No doubt Fury got notice of Coulson's attempted access of the document and the confrontation with Dr. Streiten.

Fury stood and spoke as he walked over to his desk. "Woods made the call."

Coulson had an appointment earlier with Darren Woods, head of the psych department, for a fit-for-duty assessment – standard procedure after traumatic events. Fury would say something given the results.

Fury reached into his pocket, and Coulson heard the jingle of keys. "He thought it might hinder your recovery. By the way, he called me after your eval. Said you were borderline fit. You're exhausted but doing remarkably well for all the trauma you've been through. In fact, he had a little trouble believing just how well."

Fury looked back, and Coulson met his scrutinizing eye.

A moment later, Fury unlocked the top drawer of the filing cabinet and took out a binder. Walking back over to the table, he sent the report sliding across the surface. "Here. You can read the damn report yourself. It's all there." Fury pointed at him and gave him a severe look. "But I expect you to take a few days off first before reading that. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Feeling goose bumps forming on his arms, Coulson stared at his name on the cover for a few seconds before moving on. "I want to know why I was told there was an extraction plan for Ward and Fitz in South Ossetia when there wasn't."

Hill spoke, "Hand said there wasn't the manpower for an extraction. The resources were suddenly needed elsewhere, and she didn't have time to notify you."

Coulson's BS meter rang loud and clear. He hadn't bought Victoria Hand's explanation the first time and wondered, at the time, if he was being punished for ignoring the order to dump the "infected cargo." He always cared about the people under his command and wasn't about to take a cavalier attitude with Simmons's life.

Almost from the start of coming back from Tahiti, or the false memories of it – he still felt confused about that – he noticed there were little things that didn't add up. However, in the last few weeks, he had begun to see a bigger problem within S.H.I.E.L.D., itself, and thought something more nefarious might be going on.

Coulson met Fury's eyes. "Sir, why did you 'move heaven and earth,' as Dr. Streiten put it, to bring me back from the dead?"

Fury remained standing. "You're my one good eye that I've always known I could count on. The threat to world security has never been higher, and I need you and your skills." Coulson had made a name for himself in the agency as a top-level strategist, tactician, and field commander, as well as a good judge of character. He knew Fury a long time and helped save his father. "I gave you a plane and allowed you to handpick a team to have more freedom to assess situations and take action when necessary.

"How many people under my command would put together the team you've got right now? Hell, I had plenty of people questioning my decision to let you do it."

Coulson looked to Hill who averted her eyes. Fury always did value Coulson's opinion. While he questioned Coulson's decision to include those two scientists and then later the hacker on the Bus, he went with Coulson's recommendations.

Fury continued, "That's the type of out-of-the-box thinking I need. Your new team has proved themselves on multiple occasions."

Coulson knew his old friend could use all the help he could get with battling Centipede and other organizations that threatened world security. However, Coulson's gut was blaring like a klaxon. "I appreciate your confidence in me, sir, and my team, but there are others who can take my place. I don't warrant the attention and resources it took to bring me back to life." He sat forward in his chair. "With all due respect, sir, what gives you the right to bring me back from the dead, keep me alive against my will, take away my dignity and humanity, as well as torture me? Raina said that S.H.I.E.L.D. used cruel means to reach a justified end. Is that what S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for now?"

Fury's one good eye flickered a hint of sorrow before the director walked to the window and looked out. "It couldn't be helped."

Coulson felt his blood pressure rise. He had spent most of his life dedicated to S.H.I.E.L.D., protecting mankind, but he was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with what he was learning about the organization since his death. Wondering whom he could trust, he got up and walked toward Fury, report in hand. He was tired of playing nice, but he had to be careful, even though he had a long friendship with the man. Playing with fire, one's hand could get burned. With an effort, he kept his voice calm. "And what about Mike Peterson? His son, Ace, is now without a father."

"We anticipated some collateral damage," Fury said.

Coulson had some difficulty keeping his jaw unclenched, knowing what Ace was going through. "Is that what you tell a seven-year-old, sir?" Fury knew about Coulson losing his own father at a young age and how it affected him. "How many others will be 'collateral damage'? Centipede and the Clairvoyant – maybe even other organizations – are not going to stop until they find out how you brought me back from the dead."

Fury turned to him. "Coulson, The Battle of New York changed everything. The public knows we aren't alone, and they're running scared. You know what type of damage panic can do. They're looking for any means to protect themselves."

Hill's voice drew Coulson's attention as she moved toward him. "Phil, we can't protect them from the news of the unexplained like we once did. People have access to tech, formulas, and other secrets they're not ready for. We need to be proactive and embrace change."

"I couldn't agree more," Coulson said. "But does that mean we lose our moral compass?"

"During World War II," Fury began, "we created a powerful weapon. Morally, we had to; otherwise, the enemy would have won."

Coulson knew full well about that weapon since it was Coulson's boyhood hero – Captain America. "The difference is," Coulson began, "Steve Rogers volunteered."

Fury, with an intense stare, took a step forward, making Coulson look up even more at the nearly six-inch height difference. "Coulson, I know you sacrificed everything and went through hell, but _I_ need you – and _you_ need to trust the system."

No surprise Fury used "trust the system" – S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mantra. Being an expertly trained agent, Coulson softened his demeanor. "Of course," he said with a smile and a nod. "My team is currently working on some leads regarding Raina's former contacts. I'll send you the information shortly. If that will be all, sir?"

"You're dismissed," Fury said.

Coulson nodded to them both and headed toward the door."

"Coulson."

He turned around to look at Fury. "Yes, sir?"

"I'll see that Ace is well taken care of."

Coulson hesitated a moment before nodding and giving half a smile. "Thank you, sir." With that he left.

He sat at his desk thinking about that unsettling conversation from last week. When he suggested to Fury and Hill that there was a good possibility of moles in S.H.I.E.L.D., they agreed. Was there also a conspiracy going on within S.H.I.E.L.D. beyond his death and recovery?

There was a knock at the door, and he closed the binder. As he started to put it in the top drawer of the desk, Skye stepped in. Her eyes tracked the binder until he closed the drawer.

"I wanted to know if we could talk for a few minutes."

He sat back in his chair as an indication to begin.

Her eyes went to his desk on the right side where he kept that binder, and she put her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "Whatever is in that binder must be interesting, huh?" She came in a few days ago and saw him put it away in the same manner. Her eyes shifted back to him. "I was just worried because you're spending so much time in here by yourself."

He allowed his lips to turn up a little at the corners, something he hadn't done much of since his rescue. "I appreciate your concern." He felt a little disconcerted, though, given all that had happened and everyone trying to analyze him. "You're trying to get into _my_ head now." She dug her hands a little deeper into her pockets and looked away. "It's all right. I really do appreciate that you care about people and you have the ability to read them."

Looking a little sheepish, she said, "I have a confession."

He sat forward in his chair.

"I," she said before meeting his eyes. "I made copies of those recordings that Po and Raina made of those sessions with you." He could see the distress on her face. "And I listened to some of them… well, the ones with Raina…and a few seconds with Po." He thought all of the equipment and recordings had been handed over to big S.H.I.E.L.D., as Skye called it.

He swallowed and shook his head. "I wish you hadn't have done that." He was concerned how hearing them would affect her.

"I'm sorry, but I wanted to know, especially since you've spent so much time alone. And I thought you might be lying when you said it wasn't real… what you were saying on that table." Moisture welled up in her eyes. "I know you're like me in a way." He cocked his head while she continued, "You have no family, except for S.H.I.E.L.D. You lost everything, including the woman you loved."

He took a deep breath. Although he didn't want to talk about his love life with her, he did owe her and the team an explanation. _No more secrets_. He folded his hands, while trying to determine how to put this. Meeting her teary eyes, he said, "Skye, I've been trying to wrap my head around something that seems impossible to me, although it obviously isn't. I wanted to understand this better before explaining it to all of you, but I think I've learned as much as I'm going to, at least for now. And there are other things going on with S.H.I.E.L.D. that have me worried. Go get the rest of the team for a briefing here in ten minutes."


	3. Chapter 3

Coulson took a position in front of his desk, leaning against it, almost half sitting, as his team members assembled before him for the briefing. Skye and Fitz-Simmons sat on the couch, and Ward took a chair. May stood on the side near his desk.

"As you know," Coulson began, "Centipede wanted to know what I did the day after I died. The truth, as I've since discovered it, is that I was actually dead for more than a day, and somehow S.H.I.E.L.D. brought me back to life. Centipede wants to know how."

Everyone had the same wide-eyed expression with mouths agape, except for May, who knew this already. He opted to spare the team the more gruesome facts, which would have added to their horror.

Fitz-Simmons managed to say almost at the same time, "But that's impossible."

"It should have been," Coulson agreed. He reached back on the desk, punching up a few buttons on his tablet, and a weapon appeared on his large screen on the wall. Fitz-Simmons and Skye moved the couch around to see it. "This is Loki's scepter that he stabbed me with in the back. It tore open my heart and lung, along with damaging my spinal cord." He punched a few more buttons. "And here's the result." There were gasps. A photo of his dead body replaced the scepter. It unnerved him every time he saw himself this way. He would spare them the numerous photos of his dead self that he had in the binder. While he had debated on whether to show them even the one, he realized he needed to make it real for them.

"It's like Franken…" Simmons began before Skye elbowed her.

"Not cool," Skye said, giving Simmons a glare.

"Sorry, sir," Simmons said in a very contrite voice.

"You're not wrong." He felt the same way. "They changed my memories, so I wouldn't remember what happened. I never went to Tahiti. And I believe they may have changed more than that." No doubt May had clenched her jaw. She tried to convince him in Mexico that nothing else had changed. However, it haunted him not knowing what he really was. "I suspect, too, that I won't be the only one they'll try this on."

"It's not a magical place," Skye said with echoes of agreement.

"Fitz," Simmons said with a look of concern, "we were doing those experiments…"

"Oh, Lord, growing new organs!" Fitz finished while looking at her. "And the cybernetics."

"Do you think...?" Simmons asked Fitz.

Fitz turned back to Coulson, "Some of the research at the Academy could be part of this."

Simmons said, "Sir, I can do a full body scan if you'd like."

Coulson agreed and looked at Ward. "After the briefing, get in contact with the Academy and find out about the research, and who is using it."

Ward nodded. "Do you know how S.H.I.E.L.D. did this to you or why?"

"I have a report, but I'm not convinced it's the truth. There are too many things that don't add up. As I told Directory Fury, I don't warrant this type of attention. Nor do I warrant a global strike force searching for me."

"We think you do," Skye said and the others agreed.

He was touched. "I appreciate that, but in reality, I should be just another expendable Level Eight operative, as Agent Hand told Ward." He moved away from this desk and put his hands in his pants pockets. "That's part of what I've been struggling with. There are many things going on in S.H.I.E.L.D. right now that don't add up, and that's why I don't want any more secrets among our team, regardless of the classified level. However, what we talk about here, stays here."

"Loose tweets sink fleets," Ward said, looking around the room.

"Exactly," Coulson agreed. "We'll be running a little more autonomously because I don't trust everything S.H.I.E.L.D. is telling me or doing. Also, I have a suspicion that Centipede may be connected to S.H.I.E.L.D. in some way." He noticed the surprised looks from the junior members of the team.

"Going renegade, sir?" Ward asked.

"No, just being prudent. If anyone has a problem with this, you're welcome to leave this team right now, no hard feelings, but I'll ask you not to divulge what we've discussed. If you stay, please keep in mind that the risk to your own life may go up." He looked at each of them, and they looked at each other.

Ward spoke, "I think I speak for us all, sir. We trust your judgment and accept the risk."

That meant more to him now than he could ever express. He had so many doubts running through his head about himself, about S.H.I.E.L.D., about life in general. Feeling happier than he had since his rescue, he allowed himself a genuine smile. And although he tried, he couldn't quite keep all of the emotion out of his voice. "Thank you." He met each of his team's eyes, acknowledging his gratitude and allowing a few silent moments to compose himself.

"What was that strange blue energy in that scepter?" Fitz asked.

Coulson brought up the scepter again on the screen. The weapon had a long golden handle and a black fitting, which held a blue, glowing gem, encircled with curved, silver blades. He started sharing secrets only he knew about. "That Asgardian gem holds almost unlimited power called the Tesseract. Loki used it to control several key people before The Battle of New York.

"A cube, powered in the same way, was lost on Earth and found centuries later by HYDRA. They used the power to create weapons against the Allies and the world during World War II. Captain America seized it, but his plane crashed, and the cube was lost at sea. Howard Stark, Iron Man's father, recovered the cube years later." For Skye's sake he said, "Howard Stark was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Coulson continued on as he moved to his chair, and Fitz-Simmons and Skye turned the couch around again. "By 2010, the World Security Council ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. to make the Tesseract a primary objective of research as an unlimited power source in a project titled Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. According to Thor, it's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s work with the Tesseract that led Loki here in the first place, and it set the stage for The Battle of New York."

"So S.H.I.E.L.D. caused all the destruction indirectly," Skye said.

Coulson couldn't argue. "Indirectly. Our use of the Tesseract signaled to aliens that we were ready for war. S.H.I.E.L.D. is headed down a slippery slope, and it's my belief, although I have no proof yet, that we will be headed for all out war with organizations who want that power. On top of that, there are other alien threats."

The team discussed a few more things before an alarm went off. Coulson's fingers flew over some keys and warning information popped up on the screen. There was a massive energy reading inside the plane.

"Wow, look at that!" Skye said, viewing the energy pulse on the screen. "What's happening?"

"I've never seen any type of reading quite like that," Fitz said.

"I have," Coulson said as his eyes moved from the screen to the figure standing in the back of the room. "We have company."


	4. Chapter 4

NOTE: Lady Sif and Lorelei, both Marvel characters, will show up in the same upcoming episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel's Lorelei has special magical powers, so I'm guessing she will have them in AOS.

* * *

"Stand down!" Coulson demanded of Ward, as the younger agent moved toward the alien.

Ward stopped in his tracks.

Coulson glanced at May, who never moved. He approached the beautiful alien woman, who stood in the doorway to his office. While he saw her in New Mexico with Thor and the other three Asgardians, who battled the Destroyer Loki sent, Coulson never got to debrief her or any of the others.

Her long hair hung loosely around her bare shoulders, the only part of her body, besides her upper arms and thighs, not covered in armor. Braided maroon material hung down from her waist halfway to her knees, and the same colored fabric covered her thighs. She carried a silver sword and small, elongated, silver shield with elegant decorations.

After that New Mexico incident, Coulson began to learn everything he could about Norse mythology. Besides his own research, he had had multiple discussions, at the time, with Professor Elliot Randolph in Seville, Spain, the leading expert on the subject. The most helpful information, though, came from Jane Foster, a human astrophysicist, who had fallen in love with Thor while he was on earth. Coulson had debriefed her after her brief visit to Asgard. She was the only human Coulson knew who had been to the alien planet.

He hoped all his research paid off. Only one woman warrior existed in Asgard, and she was one of the fiercest fighters of them all. Unlike most Asgardians, she had black hair, a trick Loki played on her as a child.

"Honored Phillip, son of Coul, it is good to see you again," the woman said.

Taken aback by her greeting, he replied, "We haven't formally met. Are you Lady Sif?"

"I am, indeed. Please call me, Sif. I wish to speak with you privately. But first, I must discuss a personal matter with Melinda May."

Coulson's widened eyes darted to May. She gave a nod, and Coulson watched her leave the office with Sif and wondered how May knew her.

...-...

May led the way down to the kitchen area for privacy. Her heart was so torn over what she knew would play out in the next few days and the nightmare that had occurred over many years. She thought her life had already been turned upside down in Bahrain, but that was just the beginning. These past few weeks had been especially difficult, although she had been through much worse.

"You know why I am here," Sif said. "I swear by the Allfather that I will do everything in my power to capture Lorelei and end the prophecy. In exchange, it was agreed that you would tell him everything."

Sif would have a fight on her hands since Lorelei, another Asgardian, would not go willingly. Unlike many Asgardians, the redheaded woman had gifts May had never seen. Given the circumstances of what happened in Bahrain, May along with Fury's father, Fury, Sr., the director at the time, kept the details hidden from Coulson to save his life.

May took a breath. Lorelei had been the bane of May's existence, but the Asgardian's removal could come at a price May didn't want to pay. Ironically, Coulson's life here hung in the balance. She had no choice. "I agree." If Sif were successful, at least part of the nightmare would go away. May clung to that sliver of hope, all she had right now.

"I will come back to Midgard soon. And once I am successful, I will return to you."

May blew out a breath and nodded. She might need more than the usual double whiskey tonight.

...-...

Coulson had been answering questions the team posed about Sif while he waited for her to return. After a few minutes, his eye caught her in the doorway. May stood behind her.

"If we may speak now?" Sif said.

"Yes, of course."

Ward helped move everyone out the office, each of them looking back at Sif before they left. Meeting Coulson's eyes, May looked even more somber than normal before shutting the door.

"Please sit." He gestured, offering Sif the couch.

Coulson wondered if Thor sent her. He watched her lay her shield on the couch, along with the sword and sat next to them, while he moved the chair opposite her.

"We have met, but you don't remember because we erased your memory when you returned."

"Returned?"

"When you died by Loki's hand, the Allfather granted you an honored place in Valhalla, the place where warriors who fall in battle go upon death. It is the greatest reward bestowed on a warrior, and where I hope to go as well someday."

Stunned that Odin would even know of him, he realized Valhalla must be the image he had in his mind. "I remember a golden place. It was beautiful."

"Yes, this is the only memory we preserved for you after Nicholas Fury petitioned Thor to release your soul."

A warm feeling embraced him as another piece of the puzzle came together. Dr. Streiten had been speaking more literally than Coulson ever imagined when he said, "Fury moved heaven and earth."

"I am here, on Thor's behest, to offer you immortality in Asgard with your life restored to what it was before Loki took it. You have selflessly spent your existence protecting those of Midgard. And now, you can have what you always wanted, a wife and children. In Valhalla, you mentioned this was the main regret you had in your life."

It was true, he had wanted a family, but the cost to them would have been too great. He had vague memories about his father being away so much on various S.H.I.E.L.D. assignments before he was murdered.

"You have not only proven yourself an honored warrior, but also you have helped Thor in multiple ways, especially where Jane Foster is concerned."

Coulson initially confiscated her atmospheric data she collected on similar phenomena to the massive energy pulse created by Sif's arrival. Thor asked Coulson to give the research back and in return would be his ally. Not the fool, Coulson complied. Then, just before Coulson's death, he ensured Foster's safety by sending her far away from Loki's rampage, making Thor extremely grateful.

"Thor petitioned his father to honor you in this manner."

It took him several moments of stunned silence to wrap his head around what she was offering. He had trouble believing this was happening to him and felt like he was in a surreal dream. "I'm truly honored, but I was only doing my job." The offer, he had to admit, tempted him. He wouldn't have to worry about his team or S.H.I.E.L.D. No more existential crises. He finally could get his life back and do something for himself by having the family he had always wanted. Something didn't add up, though. "I don't want to sound ungrateful because I'm not. Why did you allow Fury to take my soul back, and now you are offering me immortality in Asgard?"

"Thor gave Nicholas Fury a condition. After you completed most of your recovery, we would offer you a place in Asgard. The choice this time is yours. "Before you decide, Honored Phillip, you must come with me to see Asgard for a short visit, at most two of your days on Midgard. We can leave when you are ready."

He spent a few seconds considering this. On one hand, he had investigations to do on earth. However, he could not pass up the opportunity to go or turn down an invitation from Thor. "I must inform my team first. If you can give me a few minutes."

"As you wish," she said.

Coulson descended the stairs to the lounge area where everyone sat and talked. May had been the first to notice him. She stood and all the others followed suit, looking eager for answers. He stood in front of them. "I'm going to Asgard for a couple of days." He saw the same stunned silence he felt moments ago. "It'll be a good opportunity to exchange information," he said to help reassure them. "I'd like all of you to continue looking for connections to Centipede and the Clairvoyant. I'd also like you to check up on Victoria Hand's connections."

"You believe Agent Hand is part of this, sir?" Ward asked.

"Possibly."

He said goodbye, meeting each of their eyes, before hurrying up the winding stairs.

Sif stood as he entered his office and gathered her sword and shield. "Are you ready to leave?"

"I need to pack first."

"That will not be necessary. We will provide all you need." She held out her elbow. "Hang on tightly." Coulson locked his arm around hers. "Heimdall, return us."

He felt a giant pull, just as he had with Dr. Hall's gravitational device. This time space warped around him in an array of colors, like a rainbow. He had never experienced this type of exhilarated feeling, as he transported through the portal.

In little more than an instant, the colors disappeared. For another moment he felt a little disoriented before looking around the small, golden room. A tall, imposing figure stood there, dressed in golden armor with what looked like leather underneath. He wore a horned helmet and stood with two hands on the hilt of a longsword, while the tip of the weapon rested on the ground. It must be Heimdall, Sif's brother and the gatekeeper to Asgard. He had the ability to see and hear through space and time.

"I will take you to Eir," Sif said. "She will be your guide while you are here. Later, I will return and take you back to Midgard."


	5. Chapter 5

NOTE: The flashback is a little dark between Coulson and May, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The Asgardian abilities come from the comics.

* * *

A few minutes ago, May watched Coulson hurry up the stairs before leaving for Asgard. She allowed the team to talk for a few minutes in the lounge about how cool it would be to go to there.

"We need to get to work on those connections," May said. "We'll meet back up in the Command Center at 1730 hours." Almost four hours hopefully would give them enough time to explore some leads before dinner.

She took a few minutes to reflect on Coulson. He looked happier and more relaxed than he had in a while, which honestly made her feel somewhat better for his sake. However, this Asgard opportunity was bittersweet to her, especially knowing what Hill told her this morning.

Hill didn't have much time to talk as she was boarding a plane for Madagascar, along with an all female S.H.I.E.L.D. assault team. She told May she identified that gifted woman in Bahrain, who declared the prophecy. Once Hill mentioned that Lorelei was an Asgardian, the woman's abilities, which seemed mystical, made more sense to May. Unbeknownst to anyone, Lorelei had been living on another planet for many years but just returned to earth. Fury got a report overnight about her gathering worshippers.

May's worry escalated when Hill mentioned Fury's deal with Thor, made just after Coulson's death: Coulson would be able to choose immortally on Asgard after visiting there.

Hill went on to say that Sif, the other woman May identified in the Bahrain debriefing, would be escorting Coulson to Asgard and coming back to earth to help S.H.I.E.L.D. capture Lorelei. Once the prophecy ended, May needed to tell Coulson everything, including Bahrain and why she had to leave him. May thought of Hill's words. _Woods believes, given this chance in Asgard, Phil will take it without something else to keep him here._

May couldn't disagree. She thought back to the conversation she had with him last week just hours after his three-day debriefing with Fury and Hill as well as his fit-for-duty assessment.

"You can't seriously be considering quitting S.H.I.E.L.D.," May said, standing in Coulson's office, door closed. He hadn't indicated to the rest of the team he was, but May knew him too well and knew things he didn't let the rest of the team see.

Coulson sat at his desk, having read his death and recovery report, against, she knew, Fury's orders. "Why not?" he said, looking up at her. "I could have something more than a semblance of a life."

"I know you, Phil. Your life is S.H.I.E.L.D. It always has been, and it always will be. You'd no sooner leave than you'd want back in because you've taken an oath to..." He interrupted, surprising her.

"So did _you_," he said, voice raised.

She heard the pain of betrayal in his voice and saw the pain in his eyes, but it struck a raw nerve with her, especially now. "Don't go there," she warned. They had only spoken about this once a long time ago. That he even brought this up again wasn't like him. For the most part, he tended to let things roll off his back, even more so now after his death. She realized just how much emotional pain he really was in. He needed a loved one to comfort him, but he had no one. She couldn't do anything more than talk.

She let out a breath and continued, "You played Woods on your psych evaluation."

He scoffed and came around the desk, buttoning his suit jacket. "You think I'm that smart?"

"I know you too well. He never would have let you back on duty if he knew the amount of pain you're dealing with. You feel betrayed by S.H.I.E.L.D." He never used the term or spoke about it. She just knew.

"Can you blame me?"

She saw his pain plainly on his face and had to look down a moment, taking a breath to get her own emotions in check.

He thought he had the weight of the world on his shoulders with the global threats as they were and with his concern about S.H.I.E.L.D. She wasn't so sure about the S.H.I.E.L.D. conspiracy. However, she knew she should probably trust his judgment, especially since had been privy to so much more than she was.

He was worried about the lives of everyone on the Bus, especially Skye and Fitz-Simmons. But most of all, she knew he feared for the cellist. He hadn't mentioned her prior to his rescue. However, afterward, as soon as he and May got in the Lamborghini to drive him back to the Bus, he called Fury and asked for a 24/7-security detail for her. Coulson would have preferred she go to a safe house, a secure location to hide from Centipede, but figured she wouldn't go. Fury sent four agents to protect her.

After that call, May asked who she was. He didn't give many details. However, he did say he had been in love with her when he died, and Raina knew about her.

After Skye said she found the recordings that Po and Raina made, May listened to all of them in her cabin without Coulson's knowledge. She shed tears for him in the privacy of her room, as she listened. Raina had broken down many of his defenses – that along with the beatings and torture he received from Po. Having endured more than most men ever could, Coulson had taken a big risk going under that machine of his own volition, counting on his own will and his death to end his agony. That really concerned May in so many ways. Would he have attempted it if he had had the comfort of a loved one to support him through all the trauma of his death and recovery?

"I know you are having a hard time with a lot of things right now," she said. "If you quit, I know what you'd do. You'd wish you were back here fighting for the cause."

"I'm not even sure what that is any more."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. may have lost its moral compass, as you said, but you will always do what is right to protect mankind."

"I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. would say they are doing the right thing, but it's not that simple. The world isn't so black and white. I was part of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and my work, in part, drew Loki and the aliens here. It's why Centipede exists and why Ace Peterson no longer has a father. I'm partially responsible."

She sighed. "You did what you did because Loki brought the Destroyer. We needed to be able to defend ourselves against a giant like that."

"Where do we draw the line? Human experimentation?"

"Focus on the positive. You helped save billions of people." She got no reaction. "Fury's right. You need to take a few days off and do something for yourself. Go to the beach and surf."

"In Tahiti?"

She ignored him. "Find a pickup game. Just," she said before emphasizing, "get away from work."

"Maybe the Clairvoyant will take a few days off if I send him an email that I'm on a break."

She pursed her lips, trying to keep her frustration down.

"I'm tired of worrying what S.H.I.E.L.D. is becoming. I'm tired of wondering how many other people will be killed because of me. I sacrificed everything – my life, the woman I loved..." He paused for a moment, taking a breath. "You don't know what this has been like."

Her own pain and exasperation spilled over. She blurted out in a heated voice, "Don't _ever_ tell me I don't know what it's like. You have no idea what I..." She stopped herself, terrified that she almost told him. That she could not reach out to him and give him the support and comfort that he needed was tearing her apart. It's why she turned to Ward to get some type of release, other than drinking. Mindless sex with Ward was the only other way she could cope with her own pain and Coulson's.

She tried to keep her voice from breaking and took a breath. Her voice softened. "I'll tell you what you told me back in Bahrain. You need to let go of the past. You can't go back, only forward."

Her thoughts came back to the present. In Asgard, he could have his life back and have someone to love him. In his present state, she could easily lose him forever.

She threw herself into her work, keeping her mind from thinking about it.

...-...

Eir was one of the most beautiful women Coulson had seen. Her long, golden hair hung below her bare shoulders, and her floor-length, light-green gown accentuated her curves. The material reminded him of chiffon, giving her attire an elegant, floating quality. She reminded him of a Greek goddess. His gaze returned to her striking light-colored eyes, which appeared to be a combination of light blues and greens with some gold around the pupils. They had some type of mystical quality to them.

"Welcome, Honored Phillip," Eir said.

He realized he was staring and hadn't noticed that the servant, who let him in, left. He found his voice. "Thank you. I'm honored to meet you. Please just call me Phillip or…" He stopped himself. "Phillip is fine." Sif asked about "Phil" since that was not his name. He had to explain what a nickname was.

That made him think about how silly he sounded with Sif a few minutes ago while walking here. Sometimes, he got tongue-tied in certain situations like he did with Steve Rogers. He thought about what he said to her. _You know, it's an honor to meet you...officially. In New Mexico, I watched you. I mean I saw you from a distance. I...I mean I saw you and the Warriors Three from a distance._

Eir smiled. "As you wish. Please sit down." She gestured into the spacious room. A large firepit sat in the center of it with circular couches around it. Gold seemed to be a favorite color of most of the architecture he had seen so far, Eir's residence included. It reminded him of an old opulent castle with marble floors. Four tall pillars equally spaced around the room supported a high ceiling. He saw two doorways on either side of the room and heard water trickling somewhere nearby.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat on the closest couch. Eir sat near him.

"What do you think of Asgard, so far?" She said.

"It's nothing like I've seen on earth. The architecture is incredible. It's beautiful like you…like your home."

She smiled. "It's been a long time since I've been to Midgard, earth, as you say, nearly a thousand of your years. It was quite cold. It didn't suit me, and I returned here."

He noticed a servant approaching with a tray. "It's quite diverse depending on where you're at. Other places can be quite warm."

The male servant held the tray out to him. She said, "Please have some refreshments."

He took a gold chalice and what looked like a piece of white cheese. She took the other chalice and a piece of something that looked like rolled deli meat. The servant put the tray in front of them on the ledge around the firepit. Coulson took a small sip and raised his eyebrow, noticing her observance of him. _It had a sweet, fruity taste and was quite alcoholic._

"It's called _bjórr_. A type of mead. Do you like it?"

"It's good." He knew it wouldn't be wise to drink much of it, though. Asgardian bodies were about three times as dense as humans', so he wasn't about to get in a drinking match with any of them. He took a bite of the cheese, which had a tangy taste. It suited him. "This is very good."

"That's _fylkir_." She indicated the cheese he was holding.

He popped the rest of the small piece it in his mouth.

"This meat," she said, pointing to the items on the tray "is called, _dain_. It's a deer-like animal, which is smoked."

He took a roll of the meat and bit into it, as she kept watching. "Mmm. I like this." It was smoky but not strong. She smiled. He took another small swallow of the mead and put the chalice down. After finishing his meat roll, he reached over and took another one from the tray.

"After you are finished, if you agree, I will be happy to give you a tour of the area, or you can rest for a little while." She paused. "I sense your energy level is different than I remember it should be from the other mortals I met on Midgard. Are you unwell?"

His eyes widened. "No, not unwell." At least that he knew of. "I just haven't gotten enough sleep." A gross understatement. He could count on two hands, maybe three, the full nights of sleep he had gotten in months. He was having haunting dreams, and they hadn't stopped. Thinking better of his last statement, he said, "I've been told I'm exhausted. How can you tell my energy is different than it should be?"

"I am a healer and protector, adept at sensing others' needs. You should rest for a while. I can make you a potion to help you sleep. Then, we can take a tour if you are up to it."

His brows knitted. "A potion?" He first thought of witchcraft, but that couldn't be right.

"Ah, forgive me. It has been too long since I have spoken to a moral. Here on Asgard, science and magic are the same thing. I am adept at creating potions and casting spells, especially where it concerns healing and protection. A demonstration is in order." She said a few words in Asgardian, at least he assumed so, as she pointed to the firepit.

He stood, eyes widened, as a fire bolt struck the firepit. A large flame rose up briefly. Thinking like the consummate S.H.I.E.L.D. agent he was, he realized that Asgardians could pose an even bigger threat to earth than he imagined.

"My magic concerns you?" Her smiled had disappeared when he looked back to her.

"It's not _your_ magic that concerns me." Foster had mentioned Eir to him. The alien was a loyal healer and protector of Frigga, Thor's mother. "Do most Asgardians have these abilities?"

"No, only a small number, and each has their own skill level."

He thought of his own experience. "Are there others like Loki, who use their magic for evil purposes?"

"There are a few."

"Who are they?"

She rattled off a few names, most unfamiliar to him.

He caught the name Lorelei – from a myth on earth. The beautiful siren lured men to their deaths. He hoped the myth wasn't based on fact. Before he met Thor, Coulson would have written it off as myth, but now, he had a suspicion. "What abilities do they have?"

She listed a dizzying array of skills from conjuring powerful blasts of concussive forces to shapeshifting and transmutation. Her list went on and on and included seduction for the purposes of love, enslavement, or even death.

He could only hope these aliens stayed on Asgard, or they would be a force to be reckoned with on earth. Once he returned, he'd have another debriefing with Fury.

"Come, do not concern yourself with this now. We will speak of it later. You need rest. Let me show you to your room."

"I can't imagine sleeping right now." He looked around. "I'm in a totally new world with so much to see and learn…"

She cut him off. "Time – like many scientific principles you know in Midgard – does not work quite the same in this dimension. You, Phillip, need rest." She said a few foreign words, and a strange feeling came over him. All of a sudden, he felt very tired.

"You placed a spell on me to make me tired?"

"No, your body is in a state right now where it cannot tell how exhausted it is. It is not uncommon and happens when one is exhausted for long periods of time. One's body loses much of the ability to sense exhaustion because it becomes acclimated to that feeling. Your excitement to be here isn't helping you. I merely placed a spell on you to restore your ability to sense your own exhaustion." She smiled. "Come."

They walked through the doorway on the far side of the room from where he entered and saw what looked like a small, sunken swimming pool with clear blue water. Water trickled down some rocks set against the wall into the pool.

She led him through another doorway into a spacious bedroom. He could pick out items in the shadows, such as a large bed. A tall piece of furniture stood along the right wall and a table or something with a flat top along the left. In the corner close to the door, he saw a small lit firepit with curved couches partly surrounding it. The soft glow was the only light in the room. She waved her hand along a wall panel, and the lights came on from above. It looked like a room fit for a king. The intricately carved headboard drew his eye.

"I hope this room suits you."

He was a little taken aback. It was much more lavish than even his false memories of Tahiti and bigger than two rooms of his apartment. "It's more than I expected. I could get used to this."

Her eyes seemed to sparkle. "I'll be back shortly."

He sat and took off his tie. Folding it in half, he draped it on the back of the couch. He thought about the choice he would have. Live here or on earth? If he chose Asgard, he would miss earth and the few people who knew he was alive.

In a few minutes, she came back, holding another chalice. He stood.

"Drink this," she said, offering the potion to him, "and then sleep. It will take effect quite quickly. I will return in a few hours."

...-...

After dropping off Phillip, Sif ran back to the city and got supplies before returning to the Rainbow Bridge. "Heimdall," she said, "can you see Lorelei?"

"Yes, she is gathering mortals again. I see twenty-eight."

Capturing Lorelei would first mean taking out all of her followers, one way or another. Sif preferred not to kill them, but she would if necessary. While she, like all Asgardians, had what the mortals called "superhuman" strength, stamina, speed, agility, and longevity, she could not fight all of them at one time. She would have help.

With the advances in communication devices on Midgard, it would be even easier this time to gather more mortals. She had to hurry. Running back to the city, she gathered some supplies, and returned.

"Send me to a concealed area close to her with an exit."

Sif materialized with shield and sword in hand and a bag hanging from a cinch around her waist. Eyes darting, she took in her surroundings. She stood in a rather short, narrow hallway, or at least it seemed that way compared to Asgard. While the hallway had no light of its own, once her eyes became acclimated, the well-lit room ahead provided enough light to see.

She could hear Lorelei singing nearby. The room straight ahead most likely. While Lorelei's melodious voice and great beauty had no affect on women, it seduced males – mortal and immortal alike – to do her bidding. The woman loved men to worship her. Besides love potions and spells, Lorelei could fire mystical force bolts. Also, her kiss could transform victims into granite statues.

Following the sound, Sif snuck down the hall, ever cautious of Lorelei's other powers. Lorelei could spell some magic, although she had never developed her abilities as well as her older sister, Amora the Enchantress.

A double door, one open and the other closed, separated the hallway from the room containing Lorelei. Sif crept up behind the closed door and peaked around it. Lorelei sang in front of a shrine while men gathered in the room.

Sif's eyes surveyed the area. She noted exits, concealed spots, and other things that could help or hinder her efforts. Ducking back into the dim light, she would scout the building and surroundings before devising a plan to divide and conquer with the female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents once they arrived.

_...-..._

Ward got off the phone and headed for the Command Center near the lounge on the Bus. He was a few minutes late to the meeting. The rest of the team was there.

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he walked up to table with a gigantic computer screen embedded in it. "I just got off the phone with Evans at the Sandbox. He had some disturbing news. Donnie Gill is exhibiting the ability to freeze things without the help of a machine."

Ward looked around at the open mouths and wide eyes. Fitz and Simmons looked at each other.

Skye broke the momentary silence. "How is that possible?"

Fitz spoke, "Donnie said he was touching the machine when lightning struck it. An enormous quantity of energy passed through his body very quickly. It was amazing to me that he didn't die like Seth because this type of strike can cause massive organ and neurological damage, major burns, and other serious to fatal injuries." He paused, seeming to consider the question. "In Donnie's case, somehow, the massive power passing through him and the machine must have infused him with cryogenic abilities."

Simmons voice drew Fitz, as she looked at him even more concerned. "The device that Donnie built had the ability to turn any moisture around it to ice very rapidly at a great range. I wonder what that means for his abilities?"

"I don't know. This seems impossible. If what I said was true, his abilities could be quite powerful."

"How's he taking it?" May asked.

"Evans," Ward began, "was very worried because Donnie is still distraught over causing Seth's death, and he's angry that he can't continue his research at the Sandbox. He's been freezing harmless things right now, but they're watching him closely."

"He needs a friend," Fitz said, "someone he can relate to. I don't think we'll react well there, especially if he can't do his research."

Ward nodded. "I spoke to Agent Weaver earlier. She said the same thing." Weaver was the headmaster at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Sci-Tech Academy. She talked to Ward about Gill's social awkwardness, inability to relate to people below a 170 IQ, and Gill's feelings of guilt for killing Seth with the machine. In fact, she's the one who told Ward about Gill's new abilities. The Sandbox had called her.

"Donnie's situation may have some bearing on something else," Fitz said, looking even more serious as he paused to look at the faces around the table. "With a little help from Skye, Simmons and I were looking into that Chitauri scepter. Coulson said it was powered by the Tesseract, which has nearly unlimited power. Simmons and I ran some tests on that 0-8-4 from Peru and found it had two terajoules of energy. The amount of amps the weapon could generate was off the scale. In contrast, that lightning strike that hit Donnie paled in comparison to the dangers of that weapon."

"What are you getting at?" May asked.

"Coulson should have been killed instantly with that scepter, but he wasn't. He bled out."

"He had massive neurological damage too," May added.

"Yes, but what if Fury brought him back to life because he believed Coulson might have some type of superpowers infused from that weapon."

"But he doesn't," May said.

Ward thought of something. "There was that one incident I told you about after our first mission with Mike Peterson."

"Yeah," Skye said. "You were wondering how Coulson dodged my flying van door."

"Exactly," Ward replied. Peterson burst out of the van with such force that the door went flying right at Coulson. What Ward saw Coulson do was amazing. It didn't seem humanly possible for Coulson to bend backward with split-second reaction time, especially given his rustiness. Ward asked Coulson about it while they were all eating dinner, but Coulson had no clue how he did it.

"We haven't seen him do anything else, though," Skye said.

"This is just an hypothesis of why Fury might have brought him back. I didn't say he had superpowers," Fitz said.

"What superpowers would he have?" Skye looked at Fitz for an answer. "There was no machine."

"I don't know, but Coulson said Loki seemed to bend reality when Loki stabbed him." Loki was in front of Coulson, yet somehow stabbed him from behind.

"That would fit," Ward said. "And it would explain a lot of things. Maybe Fury still believes Coulson has powers. He put on that massive manhunt."

"But we still no additional evidence," May said.

"He's still recovering," Simmons said. "Hand mentioned that while she was here. That's what she's been reading in reports from Fury. What if his powers are latent?" She looked around. "It's just an hypothesis given what Fitz has suggested."

"That would be _so_ cool if he did have them," Skye said with a huge smile. May was quiet but Ward and everyone else agreed.

After giving the group a couple of seconds to let that soak in, Ward continued, "I also spoke to Agent Weaver about the organ and cybernetics research. Donnie had some cybernetics drawings that they confiscated. They are putting a watch on the students working with the technology." He paused, knowing the implications of what he was about to say. "Seth was one of those students working on cybernetics."

"So Quinn might be involved there, too," May said.

Ward nodded. "It seems likely."

"Maybe it's time we pick up Quinn," May said.

"He was in the Seychelles at last report," Ward said. "They won't take kindly to S.H.I.E.L.D. coming in to get him." The Seychelles posed a similar type of situation to Quinn's presence on Malta. The Seychelles had no agreement with S.H.I.E.L.D. and wouldn't hesitate to shoot to kill intruders.

"Maybe we need to draw him out," May said.

Ward smiled. "I had the same idea." He had the feeling that she was already planning something.

A moment of silence passed. "Well!" Skye said. "You're not the only one with news." She punched a few buttons on the table screen and brought up several documents, including receipts. Ward saw the cellist's name – Ana Maximoff – on several of them. "Victoria Hand used to live in Portland, Oregon, before she got transferred to the Hub six months ago. I found some receipts of Coulson's girlfriend and Hand being at the same restaurant at the same time ten days after his death. Coincidence?"

Ward looked at her in amazement.

"In fact," she continued, expanding the document and highlighting a phone number multiple times. "I checked Hand's phone records. She made a call to Ana – Coulson's girlfriend – two days after he died, as well as on these other dates."

May leaned into the table. "Maybe she was the agent who informed Ana about his death."

"I think we need to go talk to Ana," Ward said.


	6. Chapter 6

NOTE: The next 2 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes - 14 and 15 - will start to show the Asgardians. Here are my thoughts on what happened in Bahrain. It's very dark at the end, just as the show is getting very dark. There will be a light at the end of the tunnel, though.

* * *

Having skipped dinner, May slipped into the pilot's seat seeking solitude, her thoughts on Coulson. She could only hope that Sif and S.H.I.E.L.D. would be successful after Hill's arrival in Madagascar tomorrow morning.

May and Coulson knew each other almost from the beginning of their employment with S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury loaned Coulson to Los Angeles to help start that program. He was part of a small team of four. Langdale, a former army captain, was the head of the team while Gerry Rankovic was a computer geek and hacker. May came in two months later, replacing Jones when he moved to the Italian field office.

She and Coulson were frequently partnered when the two of them went out to investigate a matter. At first, she didn't like him much. He was too by-the-book for her tastes while she liked to break the rules. In those first four months, they had several arguments over proper procedures.

Her opinion started changing when Langdale sent them on a three-day mission to New York. Spending time with Coulson outside of work allowed her to see a different side of him. She never would have guessed that "Mr. Protocol," as she secretly thought of him, had an outside life. Sometimes on the weekends, he would find some guys to shoot some hoops with, and he liked being near the water when he was on vacation – sailing, surfing, and water skiing.

When she asked about his family, he talked about the murder of his father and sister, Lola, who was collateral damage. Touched that Coulson allowed her to see his sensitive side when he talked about how that affected him and his mother, May's respect and caring for him grew, knowing all that he had been through.

Then, just days before their eighth-month anniversary of working together, they went on an undercover mission posing as Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence – technology and weapons dealers. The real Lawrences had been killed by S.H.I.E.L.D. in a sting operation before the agency realized the couple had a rendezvous in Macao set up for the following week. An A.I.M. contact was supposed to meet the pair to buy weapons from them.

May and Coulson, posing as the Lawrences, flew to Macao and checked into their hotel room one day early to set up the details of the op with two agents from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Asian office. Along with Langdale and Rankovic in the states, the six of them gathered as much intel on the couple as they could, but impersonating someone else always posed huge risks. There were too many unknowns, which gave May and Coulson cause for concern.

But for now, she was going to have some fun and live in the moment. No one knew what tomorrow would bring with these high-stake situations.

When she came out of the hotel bathroom, she was dressed in a black, knee-length, sleeveless dress with a V-neck and back. Fitted through the hips, the dress flaunted a fitted skirt, showing off her curves. She put her hands on her hips. "What do you think, Mr. Lawrence?"

Coulson put down the glass of water on the night table, turned, and smiled. "I think Mr. Lawrence is a very lucky man."

Smiling, she couldn't help but think how handsome he looked in the dark-blue suit and diagonally striped, gray tie. "Mrs. Lawrence is very lucky too."

Several weeks ago, they talked about the difficulty with personal relationships, given their line of work. Coulson, she found out, had no girlfriend and talked about his own problems of how hard it was to maintain a relationship. Women had a hard time dealing with the fact that his job came first. He spent a lot of time traveling, and he couldn't talk about his job. Women just couldn't cope. It was the same story with May and men.

She took out a necklace, a small blue sapphire set in a silver mounting, along with two matching earrings from the little jewelry box on the dresser and moved in front of the mirror to put them on. She could see his reflection behind her. "And you're not worried about a certain protocol?" It was a rhetorical question about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rule against sexual relationships with co-workers. They had broken it once before during another dangerous mission a week ago, but she couldn't help but tease him this one last time.

She saw a twinkle in his eye as he approached her from behind.

"Let me help with that."

She held up the necklace in front of her, and he reached around her to take the two ends, kissing her cheek in the process. Gathering her hair, she watched him in the mirror.

He cocked his head. "I have the feeling you're finding this amusing."

She was and gave him a sly look. "I believe you are the one who kept reading me the riot act over not following the rules."

"You're a bad influence on me, Mrs. Lawrence," he teased. She loved every minute of it.

Releasing her hair, she thanked him and put in the two earrings. When she turned around, he put his hands on her hips and she put her hands around his waist. He bent down while she titled her head up in anticipation. At first, she pressed into his lips lightly before she slipped her hand behind his neck, pulling him even closer. Then, she heard heavy breathing, although she wasn't sure whose. After a few seconds, he pulled away and let out a breath, as she let out her own. "If we don't go to dinner now," he said, "we'll never make it down there." She knew how true that was. They needed to eat something, especially since they skipped lunch to continue gathering intel.

They decided to eat in the lounge of the posh hotel that evening while a live band played. They just finished dinner when she asked, "Want to dance?" She didn't know when she'd get another opportunity to ask him.

He hesitated for a moment looking amused and held out his hand as he rose. She stood and took his, as he helped her with her chair.

They found a spot among the other couples on the floor. He whispered in her ear, "I haven't danced much."

She smiled and whispered back, "Follow my lead."

He wasn't great at dancing, but he was getting the hang of it as he watched her. In contrast, she and her former boyfriend loved to dance.

When a slow dance started, she rested her head on his shoulder. Her thoughts were on breaking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocol. She knew him well enough to know that he would always put his job above any relationship, and he knew she would do the same. At the same time, they both had each other's backs. She thought of her former secret nickname for him, "Mr. Protocol." Obviously, she was a bad influence on him, as he had never broken any agency protocols before. That thought made her chuckle, and she relished the idea that she could do that to him.

He looked down at her, and she took advantage of the opportunity. As her lips touched his, he pressed sweetly into hers. After a few moments he pulled back. The feeling of his warm, moist lips lingered in her mind.

"Testing my resolve?" he said with upturned lips. She noted his dilated pupils.

"And perhaps something else," she teased, not needing to spell out the obvious. Laying her head again on his shoulder, she could hear his heart beat faster.

They had great sex that night and again in the morning. What they didn't realize was that the Lawrences had double-crossed A.I.M. The next afternoon, Coulson got shot in the thigh and nearly died, but it was his hospitalization and recovery that really cemented their relationship. Before they flew home to the states, she asked him to move in with her, saying he required some help. She moved into his apartment since it was more convenient, especially with his crutches. What she hadn't counted on was how deeply in love she fell for him and he her during his very difficult, five-month recuperation and concerns of losing his leg.

The first weekend that he no longer needed his crutches, he wanted to do something special for her, so he rented a sailboat with a cabin to celebrate. She packed a lunch, dinner, and breakfast for the next morning. They sailed out to Santa Catalina Island about twenty-two miles south-southwest of Los Angeles. He dropped anchor with the island in the distance. They talked about their shared hopes and dreams over a bottle of wine and some finger foods before going below and making love. Sex with him had been great, but making love with him completely satiated her in a way she had never felt before. Through their love and shared dreams and hopes, they reveled in the coalescence of their hearts, minds, and bodies into a single soul, losing all sense of individuality within the ecstatic resonance.

During this time, she was living her dream with a man, who was a bit of an old-fashioned romantic, and she found that so satisfying, unlike any man she had been with before.

But all that changed with Bahrain.

May heard the cockpit door opening.

"Ana Maximoff returned my call," Ward said, slipping into the co-pilot's seat. "She'll be available to talk tonight at her home after rehearsal at eight p.m." He took a breath. "I'm not looking forward to this – keeping up the façade that he's dead."

"I know," she said never looking at Ward. May felt very grateful to hear that she and Ward could talk to Coulson's ex while Coulson wasn't here, but it wasn't going to be easy. There was also the irony that she and Ana both lost Coulson, and both due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. She couldn't blame the woman at all for loving him. In fact, she really did want to see Coulson happy. On the other hand, it was hard to admit, but May felt envious of the woman for having the ability to love him.

In her own case, though, she knew her own decisions – beyond her control – had devastated Coulson, and hurting him had pierced her heart in a thousand places. May steeled herself against the wave of emotions she felt. This night couldn't be over fast enough for her.

"You seemed upset after talking to Sif. Do you want to talk about it?"

She stopped punching in the new flight plan. "I want to get a hotel room for tonight in Portland," she said, looking over at him. He agreed. She knew he would. Then, she softened her tone. "I appreciate your concern," she said, allowing her lips to upturn slightly. "I just need some time alone."

Once he left, her thoughts went to Bahrain just like they did every day…

Fury, Sr. had gotten notice from authorities in Manama, the capital, about a gifted individual there who seemed to be gathering male followers or worshippers. So he specifically requested that May and Coulson fly over due to their expertise. They would conduct an Index Asset and Evaluation and Intake to determine the abilities and evaluate the risk to the public.

The sun was high overhead as May and Coulson went to meet four other agents from the European office, whom they previously worked with. Everything seemed to start out normal as May listened to the report Jackson gave Coulson on the walkie-talkie. The other four SHIELD agents just arrived outside the building.

Jackson said, _"We're here at the main entrance. Landers is scouting out the area."_

"Good," Coulson said. "We'll be there within five minutes."

When May and Coulson drove up, May looked toward the building. "I don't see them."

"Neither do I." They got out of the car. "Jackson, I need a report," Coulson said over the walkie-talkie, as May came around the car to stand next to him.

_"You'll have to come in and get them,"_ May heard a foreign man's voice say before she heard a female singing.

Coulson started walking toward the building with his eyes glazing over. Calling his name didn't stop him. Grabbing the walkie-talkie, she turned it off and threw it to the ground, ready to fight him. But it wasn't necessary.

Coulson nearly stumbled before she steadied him. "Are you all right?" May asked.

He blinked a few times before his eyes focused on her. "Melinda. What happened?"

She told him about the voice and the singing. "You acted like you were in some type of hypnotic trance, but it didn't affect me. Jackson and the others must have been affected like you." The rest of the agents were all men, and she wondered if being a woman made a difference. She put the walkie-talkie into the car. "You stay here, and don't use the walkie-talkie. I'll fix the problem."

She wondered if it would be that easy to break the hypnotic trance of the others. Coulson was only momentarily affected, but she put that thought aside. Scouting the outside of the building, she found a side entrance and slipped inside. Stairs led up, but she would check this floor before going to the next one. She peeked through the window on the door to her right. It looked out into a big empty room, lit by the light coming through the windows. There were tables and chairs there and several rooms off to the right with moveable accordion walls. At the far end, there was a large doorway. She moved like a cat through the room, ever alert to danger, staying close to the walls on the right side since the left provided no cover.

As she neared the doorway, she heard two men's voices ahead and flattened herself against the wall next to the opening. The men's voices moved off, and she peeked around the doorway. There was another set of stairs leading up on the backside of the building and a room on the other side of the steps. After checking out the small room, she hurried up the stairs.

At the top of the stairwell there was an opening out to a hallway. She made her way to the end of it where it turned left. Peeking around the corner, she saw Barstow, one of the agents. Calling his name in a hushed manner, he came toward her. When she asked if he was all right, he never answered. He lunged at her, and she knew she needed to knock him out.

She sidekicked him, sending him backwards.

"Stop," a beautiful, red-headed woman said as she came out of a room on the left about thirty feet away. Barstow halted. Men gathered behind the women, including the other three agents. "You dare to attack me and my worshippers?" she challenged May.

"I'll do whatever it takes," May said, "to save my people." She stood in a fighting stance, ready for combat.

The woman smiled in a way that gave May the chills. "Then, everyone you love will die in exchange." In a seductive voice, the woman said, "And I shall seduce any man you fall in love with and petrify him with a kiss. He will be immortalized for you in granite." She waved her hand. "You may have your men back." She said a few words, and Barstow grabbed his head, falling before her.

"Leave her alone, Lorelei," another woman said, causing May to glance down the first hallway. There she saw an armored woman with a sword and shield who looked like something out of the Dark Ages. The woman put herself between May and Lorelei. "You must come with me," she addressed Lorelei.

"Are you jealous, Sif, that I enchanted the man you loved?" Lorelei asked before some type of energy bolt fired at Sif.

In the blink of an eye, Sif blocked the energy, which made a clang as it hit the shield.

"Kill the mortal woman," Lorelei commanded.

Sif tossed May her sword, as all hell broke loose.

May heard numerous clanging sounds as she hacked and stabbed her way through the surging worshippers. Blood spattered everywhere as bodies fell. She backed up a little down the first hallway, which provided help. The narrowness limited the number of people she had to fight at once.

After several minutes, the last worshipper fell before an energy bolt with great force hit May in the wrist. Pain shot up her arm, and the sword clattered to the floor. She fell backwards.

The next thing May remembered was Sif standing over her.

"Are you all right?" Sif asked.

"My wrist is broken." May immobilized it while Sif helped her sit up.

"Unfortunately, Lorelei escaped. She will make good on the prophecy. You must erase all evidence of ties with the people you love; otherwise, she will kill them. And she has the ability to turn any man you fall in love with to stone."

From what May just witnessed, she knew it was true, but she couldn't let the terror she felt consume her. "Who are you?"

"A friend. I must go."

After the woman picked up her sword and ran down toward the stairs, May found the first agent. She thought he was dead due to all the blood spattered on him. When she found a pulse, she breathed a sigh of relief and shook him awake along with the two other agents nearby. On her way to find the fourth, she found the dead girl. The image of the girl going down filled her mind, and May closed her eyes for a moment. So young.

May set off to find the fourth agent and woke him before asking Jackson for a ride. She couldn't even take a chance of driving back to the hotel with Coulson. Jackson didn't question her about going with him, but he wanted to take her to the hospital. She turned him down. She couldn't waste time; there were too many things to do to erase the connections to all the people she loved.

Finding a phone in the office of the building, she called Langdale and asked him to start erasing her connections to her family and Coulson. She also asked him to set up a flight to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. field office, so she could work on fixing the problem. She'd call him back in about fifteen minutes to get the details.

When Lorelei had threatened to kill everyone May loved, she hadn't believed it was possible. Now, she feared for her parents, siblings, Coulson, and, if she was correct, his unborn child. She was hoping she was wrong, but she was four days late. He didn't even know, but then they hadn't planned on this happening. She dreaded going outside to tell him what she needed to say.

When she saw him running to her, she swallowed. "Give us a minute," she said to Jackson, who walked next to her.

He nodded and walked ahead.

Taking a breath, she tried to steel her emotions and her face just before Coulson stopped in front of her.

His voice had a hitch. "Oh, God, Melinda! I'll call for an ambulance."

She saw great pain in his eyes, which made this even harder. The lighter tone her voice used to have was gone. "The blood isn't mine."

Well, at least most of the blood wasn't hers, but he didn't need to worry about it. She was covered in it and even felt it drying on her face and hands.

He audibly breathed out. "Thank goodness, but your wrist…"

"I'll be okay." She lied.

"What happened?"

She needed to be strong for him, but she couldn't keep the quiver out of her voice or the tears out of her eyes. "Don't ask me to explain." She took a breath. "Because of what I did in there, I can't love you any more. You need to stop loving me."

He swallowed and reached for her, but she shook her head and stepped back. She tried to steel herself even more against the pain on his face. "Whatever happened," he said, "I don't care." He took a breath, trying to steady his voice. "We can work through this. I'll help you in whatever way I can."

"You can't, Phil. You have to trust me."

The desperation in his voice nearly undid her. "Please, you need to let go of…of whatever happened and put it behind you. We can move forward. We can get help."

"I can't. I'm driving back to the hotel with Jackson." She took a breath. "And I'm getting my things." Tears ran down his face. "I'm going to fly home as soon as I can get a flight. I need to move out of our apartment. You're going to have to trust me when I say that I need to erase all existence of our relationship. It's no reflection on you. It's me."

He took a breath, and she could barely watch the painful emotions playing out on his face, as tears streamed down her own face. "Melinda, I beg you… _Please_ don't do this… I love you."

Knowing what she needed to do, she swallowed and hated herself even more at this point for the twist she was about to give the knife. With a harsh voice, she said, "Don't ever tell me you love me, again, and don't ever tell anyone we were in any type of relationship. Forget me. _Please_. For your sake." She walked away before her emotional damn totally broke.

Their marriage over. The image of his devastated face forever seared in her mind.

The nightmare had begun.


	7. Chapter 7

NOTE: This is as steamy as it gets. I don't write rated M. If you've ever had a great massage (non sensual), it can do all the things I ascribe to it, so take the scene in whatever way you want. :-)

* * *

May knew she and Coulson were living on borrowed time together during their months in Los Angeles. He was on assignment there originally for a year with two months left before he had to move back to New York. His injury changed that somewhat. The bullet had shattered his femur, and the bone fragments caused a lot of vascular damage, including nicking his femoral artery. While it was a difficult time with him being in and out the hospital with infections in his leg and the possible loss of it, the difficulties brought them together in a way they never imagined.

For ten days, May spent most of her time at the hospital with him while they were in Macao. The first two days he was in the intensive care unit as doctors monitored the viability of his leg. Heavily medicated for the pain, he slept a lot. While she came to see him in the morning and evening, she couldn't stay too long while he was in ICU. However, once he moved to a regular room, she sat by his bedside all day into the early evening.

She quickly came to realize how much he hated hospitals – the poking, prodding, loss of privacy, and mainly the loss of control over various aspects of his life. He told her he would just get to sleep when someone would come in and poke him for some test or other, and he was totally reliant on the nurses to help him in the bathroom and wash him in bed. On top of that, he enjoyed being a field agent, leading an active life, not sitting behind and desk, so he found it very difficult to stay in bed. It was the first time she had seen him depressed.

It warmed her heart seeing his face brighten when she entered his room or when he woke up and realized she was there with him. Four days into his hospital stay, he took her hand. She heard his voice quiver slightly as he told her how much it meant that she was spending so much time with him and how she was making the hospital stay bearable. Knowing she was falling in love with him, she squeezed his hand and gave him a brief kiss.

After the first five days, he had to have a second operation to remove the fixator, an external device attached to the bone to keep it in place. Once they flew back to the states, he had to have the staples removed three days later. It was then that the infections began. He was in and out of the hospital for a few weeks with growing concerns of losing his leg.

His mother, Julie, flew out from Boston to be there with him while May went to work. Julie stayed for a few weeks to help out during the worst of it. May quickly grew to love his mother, whom Coulson was very close to. While Julie mentioned once that she didn't like the fact that they were living together without being married, she did tell May on many occasions how happy she could see her son was with May. To Julie, that was the most important thing, and she loved May.

Coulson's physical therapy on many days was grueling, and he never liked to take pain medication. May considered another type of treatment when he wasn't hospitalized. She bought a book on massage with a small section on sensual massages, although the sensual part would have to wait until he felt up to it. Using the basic massage techniques, she could usually help him relax in the evening and work through the pain without taking meds, or at least lessen the meds, to help him sleep.

One evening, after massaging him to relieve his pain, he said he wanted to give her a massage. It had been a particularly rough day for her. To her momentary surprise, he had been reading the massage book and wanting to try the techniques out on her. Even though the position for him to give the massage put pressure on his injured leg, he did it anyway, although she stopped him when it became clear he was in pain. It wasn't the only time she had to do that.

Julie left once he felt better and was able to move around a little more easily on his crutches. That's when Coulson started preparing candlelit dinners and setting an ambiance of mystery and romance. May quickly realized how important this was to him mentally and emotionally to be able to do this for her because he had been stuck in the hospital and apartment most of the time feeling useless, longing to be out in the field again. She knew that being the old-fashioned romantic type, he preferred to take relationships more slowly, but he just couldn't usually do that given his job. This extra time allowed him to satisfy a deep need in his soul and show May how much she meant to him. With her work, it was more difficult to get the time she wanted to take to make things special for him, but he delighted in her massages – sensual or not.

That evening on the sailboat a little over five months after he got shot, they were sitting on deck – she in his lap with her arms around his neck and he with his warm hands around her waist. "I should have realized," she said, looking at the large orange sun, which sat just above the horizon. The backdrop of Santa Catalina Island sat just off to the left of the beautiful orb, and the sun's colors reflected off the water. Turning back to him, she continued, "That you anchored in this spot for a reason."

He smiled slyly. "What would that be?"

"To create the most romantic view."

His eyes crinkled at the corners, and he gave her a quick kiss. "I may have an ulterior motive."

She smiled and waited for him to continue, but silence ensued.

He just watched her.

"So you're going to keep me in suspense?"

The corners of his eyes crinkled more, but he remained silent.

"You're so cruel," she teased. She really did enjoy this or he wouldn't do it.

"If you really want to know… but you'll ruin the moment."

She giggled and shook her head. He knew very well that she would wait. "What am I going to do with you?" She could think of several things right now she wanted to do with him.

He pulled her tightly against his bare chest. "Love me."

"Always." She pressed sweetly into his lips at first, as she felt his hand slip under her hair behind her neck. Then, she increased the pressure until they both were breathing hard. He lifted her up slightly and shifted in the chair before repositioning her on his lap. A second later, she pulled away, getting what she wanted, and let out a breath.

He let out a couple of breaths and adjusted her position in his lap again. Being a tease, she couldn't help but giggle.

"Testing my resolve?" he asked with an amused look.

He was referring to a game she played with him since that first night they had sex – to see how long it took him to stop whatever he was doing and focus on a certain other thing. The second time they had sex – that night in Macao – they departed the lounge right after that slow dance and left a trail of clothes to the bed as soon as they entered their hotel room. At that point, she hadn't realized that, given a choice, he preferred to take things more slowly, although he was more than ready, willing, and able to accommodate her.

"No," she said. "I just wanted to make sure you were thinking about something." She knew, at times, he had something special planned and never wanted to ruin that.

His expression grew serious, and he caressed the side of her face. "Melinda, I've been thinking about this night for a while. Our time together is ending soon, and I wanted to make this special for you. For all you've done for me."

She wished he would never go back to New York, but he had to move back there in a month. For now with him, she couldn't help but smile and stroke the side of his face. "I love you, and I always will." She kissed him chastely. "How about dinner?" He agreed, and they shared another bottle of wine and ate.

They watched the three-quarter moon come up, its reflection playing across the water. It was a beautiful view and evening. The warm breeze blew wisps of her hair into her face, and he gently moved them behind her ear. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said, kissing her before rising from the chair. "Don't peek in the cabin."

She agreed and wondered what he had planned. It would be something special knowing him. When she first saw the cabin of the boat, it had already set a romantic mood for her. She loved the all-wood décor. There was a bed, little refrigerator, and a built-in dresser, chair, and table. He couldn't have chosen something nicer.

It wasn't hard to see from where Coulson got his notions of old-fashioned romances. When Julie was there helping out those months ago, May came home many evenings to find him and his mother watching rented, romantic movies, many were old black and whites, by directors like Howard Hawks, François Truffaut, Michael Curtiz, and Leo McCarey. Coulson had grown up watching them with her.

After about ten minutes, she heard him coming up the stairs, and her eyes darted from the beautiful moonlit water to him. The slight breeze ruffled his hair as he came toward her. "I want to show you something," he said, holding out his hand. She took it, and he led her down the stairs.

She scanned the room quickly nearly at a loss for words. "It's beautiful. I love it," she said meeting his eyes and kissing him. The main things she noted were lit candles, the narrow red ribbon strung along the perimeter of the room, two vases of red roses, and the rose petals on the bed. However, that wasn't all.

He smiled with gleaming eyes.

"What's the ribbon for?"

"That's for you to discover. Start here," he said pointing to the ribbon hanging from the handhold at the bottom of the stairs, "and follow it carefully around the room."

She did what he said. On the small counter to her right, he had placed a lit candle and a vase of red roses. Underneath the vase, she saw a small envelope.

Picking it up and pulling out the notecard, she read his hand-written note, "The times I've spent with you have been my happiest."

She smiled and looked at him. "They've been my happiest, too."

Dying to know what else he did, she followed the ribbon as it passed over a small built-in seating area to a table in the corner where he placed the ribbon under another lit candle. There was a small red bag next to it with another envelope underneath. She read it. "Inside you'll find a few of the reasons I love you. Make sure you read both sides." She loosened the drawstring on the velvet bag and dumped out ten small, flat, metal tokens into her hand. Some said, "I love you," while others had unique sayings. One said, "because you laugh at my jokes." She smiled and glanced at him before turning over the tokens. All of them had "I love you" on one side with something unique on the other side.

She read every last one of them before glancing up at him, knowing he was enjoying watching her. "I love you, too, more than I can ever say. I'm so touched by what you've done."

He had his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "I hope this is well worth the wait."

"Never doubt it." She carefully poured the little tokens back into the bag and pulled the drawstring to close it, putting the bag back on the table.

The ribbon continued on the far side of the room on top of a dresser, next to the bathroom. There, he had a bowl of ripe red strawberries along with another candle. That card said, "When you smile, I see something more beautiful than the sunset." He had said that earlier to her up on deck, and now it made her smile that much more, as she looked over to him.

In the other far corner, a set of four lit candles sat on top of the ribbon. She read the little notecard. "You are the light of my life."

"Mine, too. I'm so lucky to have you, Phil. I really can't believe you did all this for me." She followed the ribbon to the far corner where there was a built-in chest at the head of the bed to stow blankets and pillows. She kneeled on the bed to take a closer look. On top of the chest, he had placed another vase of red roses with another lit candle; a new bottle of massage oil sitting in a bowl of water to warm it; and a small plate of chocolates, some piled on others. The little notecard said, "Make sure you check out the largest item on the plate."

Initially, she wondered what he meant. She removed the chocolates on top and gasped. Barely able to believe it, she revealed a little, brown, velvet box in the center. Elation filled her heart.

"Marry me, Melinda," he said, as she opened it.

It was a small diamond ring in a six-pronged setting with yellow gold. "Yes," she replied never hesitating, as she climbed off the bed. He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger before he put the box in his pocket and pulled her to him. Her lips met his, and she put her hands around his neck. The passionate kiss he gave her had her tingling from head to toe.

He met her eyes. "There's more." His eyes glimmered, as he reached into his pocket. "Here." He handed her another small envelope. She opened and read it.

"Fury gave me an additional month as a gift," it said.

She knew she couldn't have been smiling more broadly. "So sure of yourself, aren't you?" she teased.

"Not exactly. I told him I was going to ask you because I was trying to get him to transfer you to New York."

Her heart filled with hope. "And?"

"In five months when the new office opens."

She couldn't believe it. "You're amazing!" Being Fury's friend did have some perks. Three months apart would be difficult, though.

Coulson added, "Fury did tell me that if our relationship endangers an operation or anyone gets hurt, he'll have us transferred to opposite ends of the earth." They each knew it wasn't going to be a problem, as they would put their jobs first. "I think we can behave ourselves in the field," he teased as he caressed her face. "But tonight, I want to give you a massage."

Seeing the bottle of massage oil had been enough to give her a warm, tingly feeling, and she knew he loved doing that to her. "You know I'll never turn one down, especially tonight." She whipped off her bikini, tossing it on the floor, as he turned down the linens on the bed and turned off the lights. It was then she realized he positioned the boat, so the moonlight shined into the stairwell, adding a little extra ambiance along with the candles.

She watched him as he placed some towels on the bed and removed his clothes before she lay down on her stomach.

Starting slowly at the top of her head, he massaged her scalp. Once he finished with that, he warmed the oil a little more in his hands before massaging her temples. It didn't take long for her lips to part as his hands moved to caress the curvature of her ear down to the lobe and all parts between.

She loved how he had become an expert at manipulating not just every part of her body but her mind and emotions as well. With his touch, he could relax, soothe, pleasure, and stimulate her at the right moments. One of his massages was the next best thing to making love with him. The nearly hour-long massage left her euphoric. Once he finished, she did the same to him.

Their euphoria enhanced their lovemaking as they intertwined and became one soul, taking it to a new height never experienced before.

After basking in their glow, she fell asleep in his arms completely satiated.

In the morning, they made love again, and afterward she spooned with him, as he pulled her against his body with his arm around her waist. Over breakfast, they talked about the need to keep the marriage low profile, so they decided to get married at the courthouse the following weekend.

...-...

May called ahead to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Portland office to let them know she and Ward were coming, so Ana's security detail would get word. She steeled her emotions as she walked up the twelve or so steps to Ana's house, flashing her badge, as did Ward, at the agent who let them pass.

Ward rang the doorbell of the small, beige, two-story house.

A dark-haired woman in blue jeans and a cat t-shirt opened the door. She was quite beautiful. Before coming, May looked up some information about the woman. One thing she found was that she and the woman were about the same age.

"I'm Agent Ward, and this is Agent May." The two of them showed her their badges.

"I'm Ana. Please come in and have a seat," she said, gesturing to the couch and chairs to the left. "Can I get you some tea, coffee, water?" May declined anything, but Ward wanted coffee. They took a seat on the couch. An orange tabby rubbed up against May's legs and made it's way over to Ward before jumping up in the space between them. It put its front paws on May's legs, and she stroked its back a few minutes before it wanted attention from Ward.

The frontage of the house was narrow, making the house look quite small from the outside, but the room was quite long. In fact, it looked into what must have been her music room at the far end because May saw her cello case there with a music stand on the other side of the wide doorway.

Ward made some small talk while waiting for Ana, saying he had never been to Portland. May hadn't either, for that matter.

Ana came back and handed Ward a cup of coffee before sitting in the chair opposite them. "I really don't understand why S.H.I.E.L.D. is so interested in me lately, and why I need a security detail."

"We think," Ward began, "that people might be looking for information that Agent Coulson had."

"But he never talked about his job. All I knew was that he was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and he traveled a lot. My father worked in the defense industry and had multiple security clearances on black hole projects. He could never talk about his job, either, so I understood why Phil couldn't say anything."

"The people looking for the information," May said, "may not realize that." It wasn't the truth, but the woman really needed reassurance. "I'm sure Agent Coulson would have wanted you to be safe."

Ana nodded, looking a little more at ease with the idea. "Did either of you know him?"

May took the lead on this, not knowing how Ward would respond. "Yes." Ward remained quiet.

Ana's expression saddened a bit. "It's still so hard for me to believe he's gone, even after almost two years. I think about him a lot."

May could relate in so many ways. Another piece of her died the day she learned of his death. Nearly two years ago, now. She couldn't believe Coulson was gone – especially how he died. Then, her disbelief faded, and she became angry with him for taking on an Asgardian. Taking a few days off from work, she drowned her pain in alcohol, and that's when she decided she didn't want to go back out in the field. "How do you know Agent Hand?"

"Victoria called me a few days after Phil died. I became very upset on the phone when she told me the news. She called me again about a week or so later to see how I was doing. I met her for lunch and we talked."

"About what?" May asked. When Coulson died, Ana was not listed as his emergency contact. He hadn't thought to change his emergency contact after he started a relationship with her. Initially, Coulson thought Ana had called S.H.I.E.L.D. to find out his status, but as they found out, that wasn't the case.

"Is there a problem?" Ana asked looking at May then Ward.

"We're just looking for potential leads about the information you talked about," May said.

"We didn't talk about anything people would hurt anyone for. We talked about how much I loved Phil and what a special person he was. How they broke the mold with him. How he would fly out here when he got a chance. We'd go out to dinner and see a movie, or he'd come to see me perform. We talked about how sentimental he was. That kind of thing."

May never stopped loving Coulson and felt for the woman. There was no doubt they broke the mold with him. If May could give her life to return Coulson to his former one, even if it meant being with this woman, she would have. But that wasn't to be. May could only hope that Coulson would take her back if Lorelei were captured and the prophecy ended.

"When was the last time you spoke to Agent Hand?" Ward asked.

"It's been about a year and a half."

"Have you spoken to anyone about you and Agent Coulson going to dinner at the Richmond?" May said, as the cat crawled onto her lap. She began stroking its back again.

Ana's eyes grew wide. "How did you know about that?"

"It may be a connection. Did you speak to anyone about it?"

"Agent Hand, some friends, family."

"Can you give us a list of names?" Ward said.

She had a perplexed look on her face. "I can try, although it's been a long time."

After Ana wrote down a list, they talked for another few more minutes and left, heading for the hotel after a stop at the store for a bottle of whiskey.

...-...

_Coulson awoke a little disoriented in the dim light of the room before the haze of sleep cleared. It happened sometimes when he traveled. A couple seconds later, he realized where he was and looked over at the form asleep next to him and smiled. He rolled onto his side and snuggled close, gently putting his arm around her waist, so as not to wake her. She shifted a little at that moment but didn't wake to his relief. _

_Having flown in from New York late last night, his body was still on Eastern time, so he'd have about three hours before Ana woke. He was eager to watch her play with the Portland Symphony this evening. She was harmony and beauty in motion as she became one with her music. Just watching her play really warmed his soul._

_Focusing on the present, he listened to her soft breathing and took in her scent of her skin and hair: a faint aroma of her citrus soap, shampoo, and their lovemaking session last night. _

_His time with her was all too short – the story of his life. Before flying back to New York tomorrow evening, he would eat dinner with her at the Richmond, a favored location by couples for the romantic ambiance._

_He and Ana had a lot in common: their love for music, Captain America, the water, romantic movies, comedies... He first met her at the New York Comic Con. They both were in the same booth looking at Captain America items when she struck up a conversation. One thing led to another over many months… coffee, dinner, a relationship, falling in love. She didn't mind that he couldn't talk about his job or that he traveled a lot. Sometimes, he didn't get to see her for months, like this last time, as work took priority._

_Because his relationships with women never lasted long, he felt lucky finally to have found someone with whom he thought he would have a lasting relationship. He was considering asking her to marry him, not only making their relationship official, but also giving her legal rights to his possessions. He wanted her to be protected in case something happened to him, although he was more wary this time. _

_His marriage to May ended in… obliteration? He wasn't even sure what to call it. Their marriage never went through divorce; all evidence of it just vanished. He was very grateful that very few people knew about it, so he didn't have to try to explain it. All his hope and dreams… shattered in an instant. Even more painful was the personal transformation May went through from the warm, smiling person he fell in love with to the colder person she became. If he could have given his life to undo whatever happened in Bahrain, he would have. The memories connected to it still made him emotional. _

_That whole episode with May and an incident with another agent years later made him realize that relationships with other agents, especially co-workers, weren't a good idea – S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol aside. _

_As the sunlight peeked through the blinds, he realized he had been dozing on occasion. He gently moved Ana's long hair away from her neck and began nuzzling it, causing her to stir._

_"Mmmm." She turned on her back to see him, focusing her eyes and smiling. "I love waking up like this with you here."_

_He couldn't have been happier. "It doesn't happen often enough." He pulled her close and kissed her passionately. Not being as young as he once was, he had to pace himself better. He would save another lovemaking session for tonight._

_After taking a shower with her, she went to start the coffee while he got dressed. His cell phone rang as he buttoned his shirt. However, he didn't recognize the number before he answered._

"Hello, Agent Coulson."

_Raina! Hatred filled his heart. _

_She continued. _"We have something you'd be interested in."

"Phil?" _he heard Ana ask, sending a surge of terror through him. _

_"Ana, where are you?" he said, his voice desperate.  
_

"If you want her back, you need to tell us about Tahiti."

_The rage he felt would never save her. Nothing would. "I can't," he said in a stone-cold voice. He heard the shot. "Noooo!" Pain consumed his heart. _

He bolted upright, breathing heavily as sweat ran down his forehead. It took him a few seconds to realize he was on Asgard, the only light given off by the firepit in the room. He laid back drenched in sweat, wiping his sleeve across his forehead and feeling his heart still pounding. Since being captured by Centipede, his nighttime hauntings changed from Tahiti to someone close to him dying, usually Ana.

...-...

May woke in the hotel with a headache the next morning. She and Ward drank more than usual last night before they had sex. Rolling over to the edge of the bed, she looked at the clock. Hopeful that Hill would call soon with good news, May thought about that night she and Ward first had sex.

When they traded looks in the hotel hallway, a myriad of thoughts ran through her mind. One of them was Coulson – she didn't want to hurt him. At the same time, she needed relief from her pain and his, and Ward was there needing the same thing.

After Ward entered her room, they talked a bit while they drank. It wasn't surprising to her that he had a fanboy crush on "The Cavalry." While he never mentioned the actual nickname because she told him more than once not to, he did mention Bahrain. She told him never to mention either of them again.

Over the years, she encountered many men with this fanboy crush, and she hated it. There was nothing heroic about what she did. That horrid nickname was just a reminder of how much she lost.

Last night, Ward's feelings for her seemed to be growing or maybe it was just the extra alcohol, but it did give her pause. The last thing she wanted was for her relationship with Ward to cause problems for the team.

In Mexico, she hadn't enjoyed telling Coulson about her and Ward having sex, but it was best for Coulson to know that it really was just sex, rather than a romantic attachment. She knew he wasn't thrilled about the relationship, regardless, but trusted her to not let things get out of hand.

But now, she was concerned about a love triangle if Lorelei were captured. She cared about Ward like she cared about Fitz-Simmons. But that was all. She loved Coulson and hoped to get him back.

Knowing firsthand what the berserker staff could do to one's feelings, she knew Ward's emotions were heightened, which created another concern. May hoped she hadn't made a grave mistake by having sex with Ward in the first place, unintentionally pitting Ward against Coulson.

About a half hour later, May put on her shirt while Ward was in the shower. Her cell phone rang. She saw the caller's ID, causing her to momentarily hold her breath.

"Hello."

_"May, this is Maria Hill. I'm sorry. Lorelei escaped again."_


	8. Chapter 8

Note: Some of this chapter uses a little bit of information from the 30-second promo for episode 14 seen on Feb. 4. because it fit my story. Also, I've used Agent John Garrett, who will be in the upcoming Mar. 4, episode 14, titled T.A.H.I.T.I.

* * *

After the disappointing escape of Lorelei, May was happy to see Coulson return. He not only briefed her on what he saw, but he briefed Fury. Coulson felt honored to have had an audience with Odin, his Odinsleep over. And to Coulson's surprise, he saw Loki there with Odin. The last news Coulson heard was that Loki had died. While in Asgard, Loki told Coulson that he owed Coulson payback for firing that weapon on him, until Coulson mentioned the skewering. Odin assured Coulson that Loki would not harm him again, but Coulson wasn't totally convinced, especially when Odin fell into his Odinsleep to recharge his Odinforce. Eir said the Odinsleep could last a single night or for more than a week, but Odin gave her orders to protect Coulson with her life, which could not be overridden by Loki during the Odinsleep.

Besides Coulson's awe of Odin and some great aspects of Asgard, other particulars Coulson told her gave her more concerns about the possibility of other Asgardian troublemakers coming to earth. May hid her momentary surprise when Coulson specifically mentioned what Eir said about Lorelei and her powers. May knew S.H.I.E.L.D.'s list of problems was growing.

And so was hers.

Hours ago, she realized the growing tension between Coulson and Ward when Ward saw Coulson patching her up after Russo stabbed her. She felt bad enough as it was putting the two men at odds.

But now…

While she thought the nightmare couldn't get much worse, it had. May sat in the S.H.I.E.L.D. medical facility waiting room with the rest of the team, agonizing about Skye, who was in surgery. May felt like she had been stabbed in the heart.

When they captured Quinn, his words to Coulson about the danger of sending Skye in alone were a personal taunt, and May wondered if Quinn shot Skye twice at close range to hurt Coulson. Was it a personal grudge? Was it on orders from the Clairvoyant? Or was something else going on? She couldn't wait to get her hands on Quinn and take out her rage.

Glancing over at Coulson who paced the floor, she could see the pronounced worry lines in his face. However, she didn't need to see them to know how much he was beating himself up for Skye's injuries. Ward was blaming him, too, and that was escalating May's stress. He had no idea how much was at stake for Coulson.

When Coulson asked May to look into Skye's origins, she was reluctant after reading about Agent Linda Avery and her violent death. The circumstances of Avery's death were bizarre enough to trigger warning bells in May's head. She had only agreed to look into the matter because Coulson asked her.

However, when Agent Lumley talked about heading into Hunan Province in China, May felt the growing pit in her stomach. And after he mentioned that the entire village had been killed trying to protect the 0-8-4, she knew the truth of what she had been trying to hide for so long from Lorelei.

All those years ago after May flew from Bahrain to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Istanbul office, she erased all the rest of the connections to Coulson and the other people she loved. Then, she got on the next flight she could take and flew back to the states to remove all her possessions from her and Coulson's apartment. She knew he wouldn't have returned yet, as he and the other agents had to secure the scene, take statements from anyone with any knowledge, interface with Bahrainian authorities, and file copious paperwork.

She took a pregnancy test just to confirm what she already had guessed and had to plan how to hide the child. May hoped going to a remote part of Hunan Province would be enough. She stayed in the village where distant relatives lived until the child was born. Not even taking a chance to see or hold her daughter, she left immediately hating herself for it, but hoping the child would be safe. It was yet another horrible memory she lived with every day.

Months later, she heard the entire village had been killed, but there was no half-Asian child among them. She could only hope the child was safe. But those villagers' deaths also haunted May.

And finding out that Skye never had a stable childhood with loving parents just added to May's stress. She regretted her nastiness toward Skye and not having a better relationship. That day she yelled at Skye about keeping focus on the mission, which wasn't to find her parents, May was already stressed about so many things. And she really wanted to protect Skye from digging into the past and finding something that May had missed hiding.

May had been so glad, though, that Coulson and Skye had bonded naturally in almost a father-daughter relationship. May couldn't help but see both Coulson and herself in Skye. Like her father, she had his gifts for intuition and reading people, even perhaps more than him, almost at an empathic level it seemed at times. Yet, like May, Skye didn't much care about rules and protocol and got herself in trouble, like now.

That Skye might die without ever knowing her parents and that Coulson may never know he had a daughter was tearing up May's heart.

Lumley had been wrong. Death wasn't following Skye. It was following May and now Coulson, too. She had empathized, although always from a distance, with how Coulson felt about people he cared about dying because of him. She needed his comfort now more than ever, wanting him to know the truth too, but she just couldn't take that chance.

Looking up, May noticed the doctor coming through the doorway. They all stood, and Coulson approached the doctor with May behind him.

The doctor introduced herself and said, "Skye is in critical condition. We removed the bullets, but she suffered a huge blood loss, a condition known as hypovolemic shock. As a result her body didn't get enough oxygen, resulting in too much tissue and organ damage. I'm sorry."

May's heart almost stopped beating, and she silently cursed Quinn, Lorelei, and the Clairvoyant.

"I know the academy is working on growing organs," Coulson said.

"The research isn't far enough along for the extensive damage Skye suffered," the doctor said.

Coulson asked a few more questions before May asked, "Can we see her?"

The doctor gave directions and said it would be a few minutes. They took the elevator to the critical care facility and found Skye's pressurized, isolation room. It was like a huge box, big enough to hold a hospital bed and medical equipment, mostly wall-mounted, with just a little extra room to move. All they could do was to look through the window. Her coloring was back to normal, but she was on a respirator. May wanted so much to hold Skye's hand.

They stayed for a few minutes and returned to the Bus.

...-...

May gave Quinn a piece of her mind… and fist. His orders were coming from the Clairvoyant, but he said he didn't know why he was given the order, except to hurt Coulson.

After about an hour, she went up to Coulson's office. Coulson was going to try to call Fury once again to see if he would help. But he hadn't gotten anywhere in the waiting room. If Fury wasn't available, he was going to call Dr. Streiten.

But she already knew the answer when she saw Coulson's grim face.

"We need to find a way to save her on our own," Coulson said, looking up from a tablet he was holding.

She wished they could. "How? She's getting the best medical care as it is."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. brought me back to life, so there must be information to help Skye. That's why I want to break into the medical research facility."

May felt desperate to find a cure too, but… "Phil, I'm worried about you." That was an understatement. She had been concerned that there was too much pressure on him recently, and now he snapped. She didn't mind breaking rules, but this was different. "You're talking about breaking into a government building and stealing classified information."

He had a fire in his eyes. "I feel justified. If Fury hadn't brought me back to life, the Clairvoyant wouldn't be after information about me, and none of this would have happened. Besides, bringing a dead body back to life is a criminal act, and medical experimentation requires 'informed consent' of the test subject. Fury's already committed multiple crimes."

She thought of the irony of Skye's and Coulson's feelings about S.H.I.E.L.D. on the first mission versus now. Skye had moved more toward Coulson's belief in the organization, and now he had moved more toward her original position that secrets were damaging. It saddened May that he had lost so much respect for S.H.I.E.L.D. and Fury, although she certainly understood it.

Was Fury's desperate attempt to save Coulson really any different than this dangerous criminal activity Coulson was planning? She thought it best not to think about the twisted logic, as her heart led her to the same do-or-die decision. "I'll help."

She saw gratitude in his eyes as he nodded. "Thank you."

May knew the research building hosted black projects: ones that were highly classified and unacknowledged publicly by S.H.I.E.L.D. In fact, S.H.I.E.L.D. would go as far as publicly deny them until it was ready to announce the projects to the public, if ever.

Coulson went on, "I also contacted John Garrett. He's going to help."

May knew Agent Garrett, who was an excellent marksman and who had considerable skill in both armed and unarmed combat. "Good, we'll need him."

Garrett and Coulson worked together in New York before Coulson was on assignment in Los Angles and again once after he returned. Coulson once mentioned to May that Garrett had a history of repeated criminal offenses before becoming an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., his past records expunged. Fury trained both men, although their styles and personalities couldn't have been more different. Coulson went on instinct and intuition while Garrett was about risk assessment and tactical skills. May remembered them playing good cop, bad cop, their roles suiting their personalities.

"I want to have a mission briefing in ten," Coulson said.

May nodded and left to round everyone up.

...-...

Coulson entered the Command Center, and everyone was there. "We're going to break into one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s black site medical research facilities to get some research." He noticed the shocked faces.

"Sir, you can't be serious," Ward said.

"I am, and your former supervising officer, Agent Garrett, is going to help. He'll be here shortly." He noticed Ward's face relax a bit.

He looked around the room. "I won't order any of you to do this mission, but I need your help if you're up to it."

Everyone agreed.

Coulson nodded in acknowledgement before returning his focus to Fitz. "We'll need to hijack the camera feeds inside and outside the building and transmit our own benign views. The building will be heavily shielded. Here are the specs on the cameras S.H.I.E.L.D. uses." He handed his tablet across the table to Fitz. "Can you do that?" While Coulson knew that hijacking the feed was more Skye's area, Fitz had worked with Skye on a similar project when they hijacked Amador's eye implant feed.

Feeling grateful to know another master hacker, Coulson traded a favor to get those specs. Having kept track of Miles Lydon, Skye's former boyfriend, Coulson called him on the hacktivist's special-issue dumb phone, which was exempt from the dampening effects of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tracking bracelet. After all, Coulson didn't want the guy to go without any means of communication, especially in an emergency.

When Coulson called Miles, the young man asked about Skye. It was with great sadness that Coulson had to tell him about her condition. Miles was happy to help, and Coulson released the bracelet over the phone. The young man was working on getting the specs of the building and a retina scan of one of the employees Coulson knew with access. However, Miles was almost entirely sure he couldn't break into the Level 10 computers since he had failed in the past.

"I think so," Fitz said after studying the camera specs on the tablet.

"Good. The outside door has a retinal scanner. I'm getting a copy of a retinal scan with access. Can you get us in the door?"

"I can."

Coulson looked at Simmons. "We'll also need some of that chemical you used to access the control panel in the Hub."

"Yes, sir."

He briefed them on the rest of the plans while they were waiting for Garrett to arrive.

...-...

May and the other four agents drove to the adjacent parking lot. Fitz set up the equipment to intercept the camera feeds and to make digital, five-second recordings of the benign views the outside cameras were seeing now. He would then transmit the recordings to loop the information, playing the short video for each camera over and over and making it look like nobody was in the area of the cameras. This would arouse much less suspicion than jamming the devices.

Garrett, like Ward, had a regular-issued pistol, and a night-night gun – Garrett having practiced with a few rounds of the new gun back at the Bus. Coulson had his night-night gun, and Fitz was armed with his backpack of gadgets to break into whatever he needed to, or at least that was the hope.

Once Fitz made the recordings, under the cover of darkness, the five agents moved toward the building. Fitz used the stolen retinal scan to open the door before he made a quick recording of the camera feed to loop it back in transmission. Coulson had said there would be two guards there where employees and visitors were expected to sign in. Ward and Garrett shot the two with a double dose of dendrotoxin before they all went inside. Fitz scanned for more cameras, repeating the looping process as they proceeded.

As they walked down the hallway, they heard at least two people running down the hall ahead and to the left. May and Fitz ducked into an open hallway on the right. The three men exchanged fire as the two guards came around the corner down the hallway.

Almost immediately thereafter, hearing a door opening, May hit the floor while Coulson and the other two men fired on the group. Fitz went down in pain, too slow to react.

"Fitz," Coulson said running over to him, as May looked to see where he was hit.

Fitz groaned, but May saw the bullet. It hit him in the bullet-proof vest in the lower rib area.

"He'll be okay," May said, helping him up. "Just some bruised ribs."

They continued moving ahead to a black door with an access panel. Fitz reported that there weren't any cameras in the room that he knew of and took out the chemical spray Simmons gave him to use on the palm reader. The door lock clicked, and Coulson pulled it open. Garrett and Ward were ready to shoot. However, there was no need as the room was dark and empty. Since Coulson had a flashlight, they followed him.

While they looked around the room, they didn't see anything of interest until they came to a door on the far end of the room. When Coulson opened it, May noticed the glowing equipment, the only light in the room. This looked like the equipment that Coulson described that had been haunting him in his dreams. When Coulson stepped into the room, the lights automatically came on.

May's eyes surveyed the room quickly. Taken aback by the first two small isolation rooms labeled "Subject: A" and "Subject: B" with a man lying in a hospital bed in each of them, her eyes darted to the next and froze on the heartbreaking scene. There, in the third chamber with his eyes closed, was Coulson, a Chitauri neural link attached to his forehead. The sign on his room listed his full name. May tore her eyes away from the lifeless-looking man to see the white robot in his room with two long arm-like appendages adjusting something on the IV drip.

Ward broke the stunned silence. "If that's Coulson in that chamber, who are you? Or what are you?"

She looked over at Coulson standing next to her, his face devastated. She swallowed, her mind reeling in disbelief.

"I don't know," he said in a flat voice. "But that toxin will be wearing off in about twenty-two minutes. We need to find some documentation to save Skye."

"You are Phil Coulson," May said, but Garrett's next words had everyone's focus on something else.

"The whole place is rigged to blow."

May saw the explosives wired in not only around the door frame, but also near the ceiling and down the corners of the room. Garrett found an overhead cabinet wired with explosives, and he and Ward worked to disarm them.

She looked around the room for anything that might help Skye, while glancing up every so often at both Coulsons, wondering about the original. _Phil, do you know I'm here?_ He never opened his eyes, and she thought it better that way.

"There are some documents in here," Garrett said.

All of them looked through the documents, scanning through multiple tables of contents. On May's second document, she said, "I think I found something."

Fitz came over and looked, flipping a couple of pages. "That's it."

May saw Coulson look back into his chamber before they left.

Back on the Bus, May followed Coulson into the lab. He laid the Security Level 10 document on the table in front of Fitz-Simmons and said with some desperation in his voice, "If there's something in here, a treatment that can save her, we need to find it."

May was really worried about him, especially after what they just saw in that lab. And there was no way she wanted to see Skye end up the same way.

...-...

An hour later, Ward and Coulson stood outside Skye's room, looking into the pressurized area at her nearly lifeless body while May went to the restroom. Standing here and just watching was one of the most difficult things Ward could do. He hated feeling helpless, having lived that way for a number of years in his childhood until his older brother threw his younger brother in the well, nearly drowning him. That was Ward's defining moment, the thing that changed his life. He hated his weakness – not standing up to his older brother.

After the well incident, his anger at and hatred of his older brother drove him to learn to fight and protect his younger brother. Ward learned to operate in part on the principle that he could hurt and punish those who had hurt the innocent. Now, he wanted to get his hands on Quinn, although he knew May got to him first.

However, the man standing next to him was to blame, too, although not in the same way. Ward knew there were other emotions at play in regards to him, including Coulson's relationship with May. She always had had a closer non-sexual relationship with Coulson than anyone else, but Ward knew they were old friends from day one. He even asked her about Coulson that first night before they had sex. She just repeated that they were old friends. But when he saw Coulson patching her up, Ward's jealously flared. And now he felt confusion about whom this man really was.

The nurse came by before May got back, and Coulson asked about Skye.

She said, "Skye's organs are shutting down, and we don't expect her to survive more than twelve hours. I'm sorry."

Ward's rage rose again, as he listened to the nurse. He wanted to hit something. Once she left, Ward turned to Coulson, his confidence in the man – or whatever he was – had diminished. "It's your fault Skye went in there alone. Whatever you said to her at the academy had her on the warpath to get Quinn. And Fitz-Simmons could have easily been killed as well. Your presence is putting everyone at risk because the Clairvoyant wants whatever you are."

"I'm aware of that," Coulson said flatly, having glanced at Ward before staring back at Skye.

"You talked to me about what would happen if my relationship with May endangered an operation or if anyone got hurt, but you have let your own personal agenda to get Quinn and the Clairvoyant harm Skye. And, yes, it is more than just sex with May."

"Agent Ward," May said stiffly, as she came around the corner. "I want a private word with you. _Now!_"

...-...

May led Ward to an empty conference room, out of hearing from Coulson. In Mexico he was depressed enough as it was just thinking about the possibility of S.H.I.E.L.D. having changed more than just memories. Now, he looked despondent, and she was sure he would go to Asgard when this was over. She wouldn't tolerate Ward pushing Coulson more over the edge.

In a tight voice, she said, "I told you that first night that we couldn't have anything more than a way for us to blow off steam – no personal desires. And I also told you that I couldn't have any romantic feelings for you or anyone.

"You need to check your own personal agenda. Earlier, I wanted you to get the plane ready, and instead you put your personal feelings for me ahead of the mission when you asked to stitch me up. If I had wanted help at that time, I would have asked for it. Our relationship is endangering the mission and team, so we need to end it."

Feeling extremely protective, she nearly clenched her teeth as she spoke the next words, "And don't _ever_ remind Coulson of what we saw tonight."

"He's not…him."

Her jaw clenched. Knowing human nature, she knew that people would start questioning Coulson and his motives if they knew. "Yes, he is," she said emphatically, "and I'm sure Garrett would say the same thing. He and I have known Coulson a very long time, and I don't care what we saw."

"You can't seriously believe that. There are two of him. He even said he didn't know who or what he was."

"We were married, Ward," she blurted out in anger and frustration. Closing her eyes, she let out a huge breath, realizing she may have just signed Coulson's death warrant.

"Married? You lied to me," he said in a raised voice.

She clenched her teeth and spoke. "I had to. There is an Asgardian after me who will kill everyone I love, especially any man I love. No one can know about Coulson and me. Coulson doesn't even know why I had to dissolve our marriage after Bahrain. If you say anything about this to anyone, you'll answer to me."

Ward's face relaxed somewhat, probably relieved that she didn't love him. Perhaps, too, he got an inkling of why she didn't want anyone to remind her of Bahrain. "Skye tried to tell me the other day that Coulson was in love with you, but I didn't believe her."

May took a modicum of amusement from that. Skye was becoming quite protective of Coulson. "Go back to the Bus," she said, handing him the keys to the SUV, "and bring Simmons once she has a cure. You need to decide if you can give Coulson the respect he deserves and stop blaming him for Skye's situation. If you can't, you shouldn't be here." Blame was just going to get someone killed, most likely Coulson, if Ward didn't have his back.

Ward took off down the hall, and May headed back to Coulson, still with his head slightly lowered as he stared into Skye's room.

"I ended our relationship," she said, hoping to see some reaction. He didn't even blink, causing her to purse her lips. "We need to talk in private about tonight."

That drew his attention. They went to the conference room, and neither of them took a seat.

"What we saw tonight doesn't change who I know you are."

He spoke in a depressed voice. "I don't know who or what I am."

"I told you in Mexico that I would have been the first person to tell you if I had noticed a difference in you. You are Phil Coulson."

"I wish I could believe that, but the real Phil Coulson is in that lab."

May pursed her lips, making a decision. She didn't think she could do any more damage than she had already done. "I love you. I have never stopped loving you. What we saw tonight doesn't change how I feel about you. Skye's not going to care either. And once Skye is out of the woods, I want to prove how much I love you. I want to make love to you."

His embrace and lips were like rain quenching a parched desert, and she knew he felt the same. She had wanted this for so long.

Then, she told him about Bahrain but still couldn't tell him about Skye. Doing so would have made her a target as well.

"Why couldn't you have told me about this back then?"

"I couldn't risk your life, but I may have done that tonight. I was angry with Ward and let it slip that you and I were previously married. Lorelei was here on earth while you were in Asgard, but she got away. She may come to kill you."

After about ten minutes, they went back out to check on Skye.

Simmons called him about four hours later with a serum. When she arrived, the medical facility wouldn't grant Simmons privileges to administer any type of cure. Therefore, May and Coulson gave her permission to give Skye the serum, based on a greatly modified version of Dr. Erskine's Super-Soldier Serum that he created in the 1940s. This formula just restored damaged tissue and organs.

And the entire team waited, including Ward, whom May was happy to see.

In a couple of hours, Skye showed improvement, totally baffling the doctors, and May talked Coulson into going back to the Bus to get some sleep. She and the rest of the team were exhausted. To help her sleep, she drank whiskey – wishing it could be more than a double but didn't because of circumstances – as she wondered if they hadn't played right into the Clairvoyant's hands to get that medical information. Coulson was probably right that someone in S.H.I.E.L.D. was connected to the Clairvoyant. In fact, she found it interesting that the Clairvoyant couldn't see into a Level 10 S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.

...-...

May and the team were back at the medical facility in the morning, Skye had continuing to improve. Since doctors had induced a coma, she wouldn't wake up yet.

With renewed spirits, the team went back to the Bus, gathering in the lab, and shortly afterward a visitor walked up the cargo ramp. Simmons noticed her first. "It's Lady Sif."

May, wondering if this had something to do with last night, followed Coulson, along with the others to greet Sif.

"Sif, it's an honor to see you again," Coulson said.

"Honored Phillip, the Allfather sent me to protect you and capture Lorelei. Loki helped her escape Madagascar to Vanaheim, another of the Nine Realms, but he is now in confinement on Asgard. She has returned to Midgard and will be coming for you."

May started mentally preparing for her battle with Lorelei. She had a score to settle.


	9. Chapter 9

Note: Besides the Black Widow, Brand, and S.W.O.R.D. are from the Marvel comics. Since we haven't been told what T.A.H.I.T.I. really means, I came up with my own idea.

Thanks to everyone who is reviewing, following, or just reading my story! It means a lot.

* * *

_"Damn it, Coulson."_ Fury thought as he listened to Special Agent Abigail Brand's two reports on the helicarrier's secure wall monitor in his office. He felt his blood pressure rise, not wanting any more complications, especially now. With the planning for the pre-emptive strikes on several dangerous organizations around the world, Fury couldn't afford the time or resources to talk to Coulson and neither could Hill.

Brand, commanding officer of S.W.O.R.D. – Sentient World Observation and Response Department, a four-year-old black ops S.H.I.E.L.D. counterpart that dealt with alien threats – told him that while the people who broke into the joint S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. research facility weren't identified in the one report, their descriptions matched Coulson and the people on his team. From the description, it also sounded like Paxton was involved, which didn't surprise Fury. There was no mention of what Coulson found in the first report. However, the other angry report described the unconscious Coulson in the lab.

_"He knows some of what happened,"_ Brand said to Fury as she finished giving him the verbal summary of the two reports she held in her hand.

Fury rubbed his head. "This is my problem. I'll handle it." Fortunately, only a few people were privy to the information, as this was a black ops problem. Locking up Coulson would cause other problems that he couldn't afford, either, and defeat the purpose of resurrecting him. Besides, Fury gave loose reigns to several of his top agents, like Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. the Black Widow. He knew they broke protocols and laws at times, but he let those slide because he needed them.

_"Yes, Director,"_ Brand said.

Fury knew there was more as Brand hesitated. "Don't tell me Coulson did something else."

Brand shook her head before she began, _"Lorelei is here again, and she's after him."_ Fury's muscles grew even tenser. _"However, Odin sent Lady Sif to capture her. Loki is the one who helped Lorelei escape from Madagascar, but Odin is punishing him for it."_

"Damn, Brand! Do you have any other good news for me today?" he asked in a raised, facetious voice.

She could hold her own and always was the optimistic type. _"We can be grateful that Coulson didn't break into the Guest House and find out about T.A.H.I.T.I."_ The "Guest House" was under S.W.O.R.D.'s control, just like T.A.H.I.T.I., The Alien Human Integrative Technology Initiative.

She was right, but that didn't make him feel much better. The timing of all of this couldn't have been worse. And Woods warned Fury that the likelihood of Coulson staying on earth would diminish if he ever found out even half the truth.

_"That's all I have to report, Director."_

Fury thrust his index finger into the button to cut off the transmission and sat down at his desk, reflecting for a few seconds on Coulson's situation. He got word that Coulson had tried to contact him several times about saving one of his agents and again after breaking into the research facility. Coulson had been calling in favors, too, to find Fury.

Could he personally blame Coulson for wanting to save the life of his team member after what Fury, himself, had done?

People thought of him as ruthless and he freely admitted he was, at times. Some of the doctors had even called him ruthless with his plan to resurrect Coulson, and he knew they were right in some ways, since his reasons to save Coulson went beyond saving a friend and top-notch field commander. And there was no doubt that Coulson had other abilities Fury needed. In fact, the man had already been helpful in alerting Fury to Hand's activities. Having her followed and performing further surveillance, Hill discovered Hand was a double agent.

However, right now, he felt a sense of sorrow for his long-time friend, and knew Coulson wanted and deserved answers, which Fury didn't want to give. He relived a brief moment, seeing Coulson on the operating table and hearing his cries to let him die. At that point in the resurrection process, they had come too far to give up, so Fury ordered the doctor's and scientists to find a way to change Coulson's memories to something pleasant in the months ahead.

But doctors warned Fury that Coulson would never quite be the same person he knew before the resurrection. Fury was willing to take that chance, and he still believed it was the right choice.

Fury compartmentalized those thoughts and picked up his tablet to look at the latest preparations and intel for the pre-emptive strikes.

...-...

Having just set course to Nevada, following Lorelei's trail of robberies, May entered the open door of the Cage, watching Sif hone the blade of her sword and admiring the fine craftsmanship.

"May I?" May asked, holding out her hand.

Sif held out the double-bladed sword, and May took it. It was much heavier than it looked. Coulson mentioned that objects on Asgard were heavier than on earth due to their denser structures. She twirled it, noting the perfect balance.

"You are skilled with a sword," Sif said.

May had trained with the broadsword, straight sword, staff, spear, Kali sticks, and other weapons. "I am, but I prefer my hands." She handed the sword back to Sif and sat down.

Sif nodded and sheathed her sword. "You know more than you have told Phillip, son of Coul."

May had a feeling where this was going with this and shut the door. She had been wondering since Coulson returned from Asgard whether there was more to having a healer as a tour guide than just what Coulson had been told.

"Eir sensed his life energy was slightly different from other mortals. While she gave him something to sleep to remove his exhaustion, it also allowed her to see what was blocked from his consciousness."

May felt a pit in her stomach and wondered if Fury and Hill knew of the Asgardians' awareness.

"I know you are concerned about the possibility that he will choose to live on Asgard, but once I capture Lorelei and silence her, you must tell him everything you know about the magic your people used to restore his body. We know Nicholas Fury wanted to keep this secret, even from us, but Heimdall knows everything that happened and has kept the Allfather apprised. Nicholas Fury agreed to tell Phillip, son of Coul, everything."

"Why must Coulson know all of it? It will just cause him more pain."

"Have you not borne witness to the pain he already suffers as images haunt his dreams and thoughts?"

A sense of guilt welled up inside May, and the pit in her stomach grew. What would Coulson do once he found about her role in this? This was the price she was worried about coming due. The only part of this she could ever count on resolving if Sif were successful was to get rid of the prophecy.

"He is remembering, Melinda May, and it will be just a matter of time before he remembers it all. Does he not deserve the truth and the choice to live where he desires?"


End file.
